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Gift of
E. C. Stowell

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STANFORD

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARIES

MEMOIRS OF GEORGE ELERS

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MEMOIRS

GEORGE E,LERS

Captain in the 12th Rbgiubnt of Foot
(1777— 1842)

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

Correspondence and otber |>aper0 witb
(^nealodc and Tloted

Edited from the Original MSS.

LORD MONSON and GEORGE LEVESON GOWER

With Two Portraits and Map

NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND CO
1903

^^/

[All rights fx*erv€d\

INTRODUCTION

The MS. of these Memoirs of Captain George
Elers» of the 12th Regiment of Foot, was found in
ihe library at Burton Hall by my relative, Mr.
George Leveson Gower, to whom I am also in-
debted for his assistance in preparing this volume
for publication ; and as they seemed to me to present
a truthful and interesting picture of life in society
and in the Army at the end of the eighteenth and at
the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, I decided
on publishing them.

Captain Elers had renewed early in 1841 his
acquaintance with my grandfather, the sixth Lord
Monson (then Mr, William Monson), with whom
he was connected through the family of Debonnaire,
My grandfather, who succeeded to the title by the
death of his cousin in October of that year, sub-
sequently rendered certain services to Captain
Elers. Captain Elers died at St* Heliers, in Jersey,
in January, 1842, from a stroke of apoplexy, having
appointed Lord Monson his heir and executor ; but
the inheritance was not a profitable one, as prac-
tically his sole means of subsistence was a trifling
annuity from his cousin, Mrs. Tennant* In fact,

vi INTRODUCTION

beyond a few watches and a little jewellery (now in
my possession) he had only a small sum of ready
cash at the time of his death. Lord Monson sub-
sequently erected a tablet to his memory.

A genealogical table, showing the author's rela-
tionship to my grandfather, will be found at the end
of the volume, as well as a map of India, showing
the different places mentioned in the narrative.

With reference to the correspondence which
follows the Memoirs, and which, together with
them, came into my grandfather's possession, a
selection has been made of such letters as would
seem to possess enough interest to justify their
publication. Of the letters from the Duke of Well-
ington, that written in India when he was Colonel
Wellesley (stated by the Captain to have been
written in 1802, but which is dated November 19,
1 801) corroborates the statements made by Captain
Elers in his autobiography of his intimacy with
the Duke in early days ; whilst those addressed to
Captain Elers by his cousin, Miss Maria Edge-
worth, may confidently be expected to possess a
certain attraction for all who admire the writings
of that talented authoress. I am also fortified in
my estimate of the interest of the Memoirs by the
testimony of Miss Edge worth herself, as expressed
in one of her letters.

After careful consideration, it has seemed to me
better to leave the text as it was written by the
author, with the exception of a few necessary verbal

INTRODUCTION

Vll

alterations. The course of his narrative is, it is
true, occasionally somewhat involved and discon-
nected, but the inconvenience attendant upon this
IS, in my opinion, outweighed by that of attempting
to rearrange the order of the text without always
being in possession of sufficient materials to give
one complete assurance that such a task has been
carried out with perfect accuracy* I have further
felt that it was preferable not to introduce changes
into the authors somewhat peculiar style, except
where this was absolutely necessary for ready com-
prehension. Such changes would, to my mind, rob
the narrative of much of the quaintness which
brings out so well the character and idiosyncrasies
of the author.

The valuable footnotes to the Memoirs and cor-
respondence are contributed by my friend, the Rev.
Arthur Roland Maddison, Canon of Lincoln Cathe-
dral, to whom my warm thanks are due for the care
and interest which he has given to a task which he
is so admirably qualified to fulfil. A few notes have
been added by Mr. Leveson Gower, these being
distinguished from Canon Maddison's by the
editorial signature.

MONSON.
Burton Hai.l, LmcoLNi
March 19, 1903.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

fAGE

Author's birth — His two brothers — German ancestry —
Queen Henrietta Maria— Elector of Maintz— Queen
Christina of Sweden — Staffordshire Potteries — ^John
Philip and David Elers — Josiah Wedgwood— Grand-
father's marriage— Bourton — Father's marriage —
Gordon riots — Northamptonshire — School at Chis-
wick — Lord Lyndhurst - » - - r-i8

CHAPTER H

Dr. Barrow's school — The middy schoolboy — Liston, the
actor — Oxfordshire — Cousin Sophia — Oxford— Blen-
heim — Hungerford Elers gazetted to the 43rd
Regiment - - - - - 19-31

CHAPTER HI

Edward Elers enters the Navy — The Queen and Ed-
ward*s miniature — Mother dies — Her jewels—
Gazetted to the 90th Regimen t^Exchanges into the
J2ih^ — Sartorial splendours — Colonel Aston - - 32-38

CHAPTER IV

Joins his raiment at Newport — Placed in light infantry
company — A pugnacious Irishman^Embarks for
India — ^Lady passengers — The Prince of Wales*s
commendation — The wine limit — An unlucky ac-
complishment ... - •39-50
l,x]

X CONTENTS

CHAPTER V

Crossing the Line — Arrival at the Cape— Captured
Dutch menof-war — Dutch flaure — Constantia —
Colonel Arthur Wellesley — His gratitude — A timely
loan — Arrival at Madras — Fort St. George — The
Nabob of Arcot — A Minden veteran — Lord Hobart,
Governor of Madras — A lovely termagant - - 51-67

CHAPTER VI

Expedition against Manila — A naval hero— Penang —
Expedition abandoned — Captain Winstone's death
— Return to India — Camp life — Conjeveram pagodas
— Tanjore — Vellum — Suttee — Revolution at Tanjore
— Amee — A regimental quarrel — A duel in Ceylon
— Colonel Aston killed in a duel • - - 68-89

CHAPTER VII

Ill-health — Vellore — Pass of Amboor — To Seringapatam
— ^Just too late for its fall — A palace hospital — Saved
by port-wine— * Old Sour Crout* — The lottery of
the service — Another lottery of ;f 20,000 — Mrs.
Tennant — Baffled hopes — Restoration of lawful
Rajah of Mysore — Prize-money — The doctor and
the diamonds— Colonel Wellesley's foiled night
attack — General Baird*s generosity — The Duke of
York and General Harris — A cure for snake-bites —
Dr. Scheltky's death — St. Thom6 — Rejoins regi-
ment ------ 90-108

CHAPTER VIII

Colonel Harcourt — Lieutenant Price broken — Cotiote
expedition — An engagement — Jungle fever — ^Talat-
cheri — With Colonel Wellesley from Cannanore —
A dangerous journey — A strange accident — The
Rajah of Coorg — At Seringapatam with Wellesley
— Hunting with cheetahs — A court-martial — Welles-
ley's gallantries - - - - 109-126

CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX

A riding wager — Trichinopoli — Racing^ — ^A duel — Gets
his captaincy — Losses in the Funds — Colonel Brown
— ^Pondicherri^ — Adventure with a cobra - 127-141

CHAPTER X

AtJiletics — Pet tiger and alligator — Colonel Wellesley's
terrier — Bhil robbers — A servant's honesty — By sea
to Vizagapatam — Fight between the Cmturioit and
French firigates — Colonel Harconrt at Cuttack^-
Chicken hazard — Juggernaut — Calcutta — Lord
Wellesley — A billiard match — Tigers on Saugor
Island — Back to Madras — Atrocity at Travancore —
Lord Lake's siege of Bhurtpore — General Welles*
ley's K.C.B.— The Duke of Clarence and Mr.
Calcraft — Aston at Ranelagh^ — Aston's duel with
Sumner — Surcouff - - - - 142-170

CHAPTER XI

Court' martial — A duel for a song — Arrested by mistake
— On duty with the 75rd Regiment — James Balfour
of Whittingehame — Lord Comwallis— Sails for
England on the Hawktshttry-^Dodging Admiral
Linois — A Brazilian convict station — News of Tra-
£a]gar and Austerlitz - - - 1 71-184

CHAPTER XII

Bribing the Customs — ' Drinking gold ' — An eccentric

L sportsman — Sport in Yorkshire— The London season
— Mrs. Colston's at Ampthill — Charles Fox at
Woburn — Cheltenham — Discovery of a Titian— An
awkward rejoinder — The Duke of York — Dinner to
Lord Wellesley . - . . 185-205

CHAPTER XIII

Miss Gardner and Lord Chartley — A miserable marriage
— Lord Chartley's flight— Lady Chartley elopes—

AUTHOR'S NOTE

These recollections of my life, family, and connec-
tions are written for the information of my nephew,
Edward Hungerford Delaval Elers, commonly called
Napier, a Captain in the 46th Regiment, by his

uncle,

GEORGE ELERS
(formerly a Captain in the 1 2th Regiment),

Seymour Place,

September 19, 1837.

CHAPTER I

Author's biitb — His ^two brothers — German ancestry — Queen
Henrietta Maria — Elector of Maintz— Queen Christina ot
Sweden— Staffbrdsh ire Potteries — John Philip and David
Elers — Josiah Wedgwood — Grandfather's marriage— Bourton
— Fathcr^s marriage — Gordon riots — Northamptonshire —
School at Chiswick — Lord Lyndhurst.

On May 14, 1777. in Great Russell Street, Blooms-
bury Square, I first saw the light, an elder brother,
Hungerford Richard, having preceded me by four
years. I was about four years old when my mother
gave me a brother named Edward, while I flourished
under the name of George. These were all the
children my mother ever had.

The old baronial family of Elers were long settled
in the northern parts of Lower Saxony, where many
places preserve lasting memorials of the fact by the
names they bear, as Elersdorf, Elerswolf, Elersdorpt,
and others of similar terminology. In Hamburg
some hereditary posts of honour and distinction
were long held by the family ; one of them was
Admiral of their Fleet, which during the exist-
ence of the Hanseatic League in its full vigour
^was the most considerable maritime force in
Europe. He married a daughter of the Prince of

2 ELERS MEMOIRS

Baden, in Germany, some of the honours of
which family the son of that marriage asserted
his right to in a long and expensive lawsuit, which
in the Aulic Council of the Empire was determined
against him. Disgusted with the decision, the family
suddenly removed into Holland, where my great-
great-grandfather, Martin Elers, was born, in the
year 162 1, and in 1650 married a daughter of Daniel
van Mildert, a merchant of eminence, who brought
with her a large fortune. Van Mildert was a person
of such mercantile importance that the Queen of
Charles I., Henrietta Maria, during her residence
in Holland in the time of her misfortunes, occa-
sionally resided with him, and his little daughter,
afterwards the wife of Martin Elers, recollects sitting
in Her Majesty's lap eating sweetmeats at her
fathers table. This Martin Elers afterwards went
as Ambassador from Holland to the Emperor of
Germany. The eldest son of this marriage was my
great-grandfather, John Philip, a godson of the
Elector of Maintz,^ of the illustrious family of Schcin-
brunn, who is honourably mentioned in Lord Claren-
don's History. This John Philip associated much
with men of science ; was a great chemist, and the
intimate friend and associate of Joachim Becker,
the most distinguished person in chemical researches
of his time, and of whom Boerhave, in his * Chemical
Lectures,' speaks with the greatest respect and

^ The Elector of Maintz was instrumental in raising a subsidy
for Charles II. during the Commonwealth.

ANCESTRY

regard. Their pictures were mutually exchanged,
and some of his books were dedicated to my great-
grandfather. The celebrated Christina, Queen of
Sweden^ was his godmother, and held him in her
arms at the baptismal font, and we had a family
picture recording the fact She treated him with
the greatest kindness and affection, and constantly
called him her cousin, in remembrance of his descent
from the royal House of Baden. The Elector
of Maintz presented him with a service of plate
and his picture set round with large rubies and
diamonds, which my grandfather possessed. This
John Philip Elers was born at Utrecht, September 7,
1664. He had an elder brother named David, born
at Amsterdam, June 13, 1656, He also was a man
devoted to the sciences, and particularly to chemistry.
He travelled all over Europe, and visited Moscow
among other places. His brother, John Philip, also
travelled a great deal, associating with men of
science. Both of them being great chemists, they
in Holland were taught, or found out, the secret of
mixing clay, and on their settling in England they
introduced it into Staffordshire, and imparted their
discovery to Mr, Wedgwood, who there established
his famous potteries, which are still in existence. On
their arrival in England, about the time of the
Revolution, they settled in Staffordshire, and took
up their residence at a large house called Brada Hall,
which they rented of Mr. Sneyd, of Keele, where
my great-grandfather married Miss Elizabeth Banks,

I — 2

4 ELERS MEMOIRS

whose sister at that time was married to the Rev.
Edward Vernon,^ an ancestor of the noble Baron of
that title. The Prince of Orange, afterwards
William III., honoured him with his esteem and
friendship, and granted to a brother of his wife a
pension of ;^ 300 per annum. His sister Sarah was
the second wife of Sir William Phipps, Governor of
New England, who founded the present noble family
of Mulgrave.

My great-grandfather was married in Leicester-
shire August 26, 1699, and soon afterwards went
to reside at Battersea, in Surrey. In 1701 my
great-grandfather removed from Surrey to Dublin,
where he remained until his death in 1738. The
other brother, David, resided in London, and was
buried at Battersea, 1742. Whether my grand-
father was born in England or Ireland I know not,
but he finished his education at the University of
Oxford,^ and was considered a very accomplished
scholar. He made the law his profession, and was
called to the Bar soon after he left Oxford. Among
other young men of fashion, he was on terms of
intimacy with a Mr. Grosvenor (about to be married
to a young heiress), who asked him to accom-

^ Edward Vemon, son of John Vemon, and grandson of Sir
Edward Vemon, Knt., of Houndshill, married Lettice, daughter
of John Banks, of Uttoxeter, and was father of Rev. Edward
Vemon, Rector of St. George's, Bloomsbury, who died unmarried
1765-

' His name does not appear in the matriculation books of the
University.

AUTHOR'S GRANDFATHER

N
^

pany him into Oxfordshire for the purpose of giving
him his professional assistance in drawing up the
marriage settlements. Mr. Grosvenor and the bride-
elect quarrelled, and Mr. G., in joke, proposed that
his friend should supply his place» And ' upon that
hint he spake/ Miss Hungerford soon after became
the bride of the young barrister, and brought him,
with the old family seat of Bourton, an estate that
then produced about ^1,500 per annum, and which
at this time yields ;^6,ooo a yean On the marriage
of my grandfather he relinquished his profession,
his wife generally presenting him every year with
a 'sweet little pledge,' while he sat in his library,
like Dominie Sampson, enjoying the beauties of
Homer^ Sophocles, Euripides, etc., with his knees,
in the winter months, literally in the fire, leaving
the management of his estate to the steward and
servants, and when money was wanted down came
a fall of timber to supply immediate needs. Things
could not long go on in this manner. The result
was that my grandfather became in the course of
a few years much embarrassed. To relieve him
my father, on coming of age, joined him in cutting
off the entail of the estate, and it was all sold
with the exception of the mansion and fifty acres
of land surrounding it His son, my father, Paul
George Elers, entered the army, and the interest
of Simon, Earl of Harcourt, a great and kind
friend of our family, procured him an ensigncy,
and afterwards a lieutenancy, in the 70th Regiment.

6 ELERS MEMOIRS

On his marriage with my mother he retired on half-
pay. I have reason to believe that it was through
the interest of Lord Harcourt that my grandfather
obtained a pension of ;^500 per annum on the Irish
establishment after the loss of his estate. This
kind-hearted nobleman accidentally lost his life in
his park at Nuneham, in Oxfordshire, by falling into
a well. I experienced much kindness from a relation
of his when in the army, Major-General George
William Richard Harcourt, a Lieutenant-Colonel of
my regiment, who afterwards died Governor and
Commander-in-Chief at St. Croix, West Indies.

My father married, about the year 1772, Miss
Elizabeth Debonnaire,^ of French extraction, whom
he niet at the house of his relations, the Miss
Blakes, descendants of the famous Admiral, and
also of the ancient family of my grandmother, the
Hungerfords. There were in this family three or
four sisters, all unmarried, and living in Great
Russell Street. They kept much company, par-
ticularly among their own family connections and
relations. Among the latter I perfectly recollect
the Duchess of Leeds -^ her mother, Mrs. Anguish ;

^ Elizabeth, daughter of John Debonnaire, of Bromley, married
to Paul George Elers, at St. George's, Bloomsbury, July 16, 1772.

^ The genealogical details given by the writer are rather difficult
to verify. His grandfather Elers is said to have married an heiress,
Mary, daughter of Anthony Hungerford, of Black Bourton, County
Oxford. Her mother was a Blake, and Richard Lovell Edge-
worth, the writer's uncle by marriage, in his * Memoirs' (vol. L,
P* S^)i gi^^ St graphic account of her, and also mentions the

THE MISS BLAKES 7

Mrs. and Miss Hungerford (the latter afterwards
married the Hon. General Crewe, and the son by
that marriage is the present Lord Crewe); Mr.

Miss Blakes of Great Russell Street, where he used to see
Captain Elers.

But in the * Howard Papers,' written by H, Kent Staple
Caoston, a pedigree is given of the Blakes which seems at
variance with the above.

ELixabeth, daughter and coheir of Sir Francis Blake, Knt, of
Coggs^ County Oxford, and Ford Castle, Northumberland, is said
to have married Edward Digby Gerard Hungerford, of Black
Bouiton, son of Sir Edward Hungerford, Knt,, by his third wife,
Jane, daughter of George Digby, of Sand on, County Stafford, and
relict of Charles, Lord Gerard, of Bromley.

R. L. Edgeworth expressly mentions a portrait of Sir Edward
Hungerford being at Black Bourton. Again, in Playford's
• Baronetage ' {sub Blake^ of Twizel Castle), Miss Elizabeth Blake
is said to have married simply Edward Hungerford, of Black
Bourton, and to have had no issue.

It must also be remembered that R. L. Edgeworth, in his
account of his wife's father marrying the heiress of Black Bourton,
alludes to some difficulty in the title to the property.

Eoough has been stated to show that some difficulty exists in
making out a correct Hungerford pedigree. The connection
with old Lady Moira, of which Miss Maria Edgeworth speaks,
would be a strain even to Scotch cousinship, as the common
ancestor must have lived in early medieval times.

As for the Miss Blakes of Great Russell Street, their identity
must remain a problem.

They were elderly when R. L. Edgeworth, as a young man,
irequented their house, and he was born in 1744* so that they
toust have been probably born early in the eighteenth century.
But who was their father ? Not Sir Francis Blake, of Coggs, who
died in 17 18, for he had seven daughters (coheirs), who all
married. One of them married a Blake^Robert Blake, of
Galway^ — and had a son created a baronet, Sir Francis Blake, of

8 ELERS MEMOIRS

George Keate, a cousin, at that time known as an
author ; Sir Francis Blake Delaval, a wild young
man of fashion ; his friend, Mr. Edgeworth, married
to an aunt of mine ; a Mr. Ogle ; a Mr. Foyle ; and
Charles, Lord Dormer. All these were related to
the old ladies, together with the Parkhursts, of
Catesby Abbey, Northamptonshire.

I was about three years old when I perfectly
recollect seeing the encampment in the Museum
Gardens, occasioned by the riots in London, in the
year 1780.^

The next event that made a great impression
upon me was getting a severe whipping from my
father for walking across some iron bars in the
yard, which, I recollect, caused great grief to my
mother, as I did it at the particular request of my
brother, and merely to oblige him. I had an Aunt
Charlotte, married to the Rev. John Kerby, of
Bulwick, Northamptonshire. They had no children,
and soon after their arrival in London I accom-
panied them, together with a Mr. and Mrs. Clark,
of Bulwick Hall, into Northamptonshire.

Soon after I was born I was sent into Hertford-
shire to be nursed by a woman named Holmes,
living at Berkhampstead, in that county. I perfectly

Twizel; but he died as late as 1780, and his children can all be
accounted for. They may possibly have been daughters or grand-
daughters of a brother of Sir Francis Blake, of Coggs, but this is
pure conjecture.
^ The Gordon riots.

FILKINS HALL

recollect my trip into Northamptonshire, and
sleeping at an inn on the road with the lady s-maid.
I had several aunts, and they all married^ with the
exception of one, the eldest. Louisa married the
Rev. Alexander Colston, of Filkins Hall, Oxon ;
Maria, to Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Esq, ; Diana,
to the Rev, R, Welchman ; Rachel, to Captain
Hopkins, Royal Marines, killed on board the
BeUerophon in Lord Nelson s action at the Nile ;
and Amelia, married to J, Baldey, Esq., an officer
in the Navy, lost at sea.

With my uncle and aunt I became a great pet,
and experienced every indulgence. I at that early
^e, little more than four, used to ride, with the
groom, the horses to water in the village, without
a saddle, and accompany my uncle shooting when I
grew bigger. Nothing delighted me more than
carr)ing home the game. Mn and Mrs. Clark
lived not more than a quarter of a mile from us, just
through the village ; crossing a small stream of
water, you entered their park. With them I passed
whole days together, and called them uncle and
aunt. Mrs* Clark had been married previously to
Mr Tryon, a gentleman of ancient family and
fortune, and she had by him two sons, whose
children are now living at Bulwick Hall They
had also a residence at St. Martin's, Stamford, and
one winter I accompanied them thither, where
Mrs. Clark presented me with the first boy's suit of
clothes I ever wore. 1 full well recollect how im-

lo ELERS MEMOIRS

patiently I lay in bed the morning they came from
the tailor's, waiting for my favourite maid to dress
me in them. Mr. and N^rs. Clark were on terms
of great intimacy with Brownlow, the ninth Earl of
Exeter. He was particularly fond of music, and I
perfectly recollect staying a few nights at Burleigh
to hear the celebrated Madame Mara sing there,
where a large party of all the fashionables in
the neighbourhood were staying. At this time
Mr. Clark had not any deer in his park, while his
fish-ponds were full of very fine carp. I remember
Lord Exeter sending over to Bulwick Park a
covered waggon filled with bucks and does ; and a
large quantity of fish were conveyed to Burleigh
to stock the ponds and stews in return. At
Mr. Clark's I remember often seeing the present
Earl of Westmorland and the late Countess ; Sir
James Lowther, now Earl of Lonsdale ; the Earl of
Harborough ; Sir Samuel Fludyer ; Lord Cardigan ;
and many others. Lady Westmorland was very
fond of driving a phaeton with four small ponies,
and one evening, going through our village, her
little postillions contrived to overturn the carriage,
and threw out her ladyship and Lady Augusta
Fane, the sister of Lord Westmorland. It happened
Mr. and Mrs. Clark were at dinner at our house,
and the two ladies came over to us, while an
express was sent over to Apethorpe to inform Lord
Westmorland of the accident. They fortunately
were more frightened than hurt ; but they slept at

BLATHERWICK

Bulwick that night, and returned home with his
lordship in the moming.

About three miles from us lived the Hon, Colonel
and Mrs. Monckton, at Fineshade. Her maiden
name was Adams, and she was an heiress* Her
brother died, having acquired a large fortune in
India in the military service ; report stated it at
;^ 1 00,000. The Colonel had three daughters — fine
young women. The eldest, Jane, died many years
after I first saw them, unmarried. Elinor married
the Earl of Harborough, and Mary Ann Sir George
Pigott, Bart. They had an old French governess,
a Madame Du Barr^. They were very kind to
me» and as I was a mere child I had the free entry
into all their rooms. I used to spend several days
together there.

About a mile from us lived a Mn O'Brien, at
Blatherwick Hall, This gentleman had a large Irish
as well as an English property,^ and had a large
family of children by an Irish woman of the name
of Kitty Flannigan,^ Mr. O'Brien gave them all
his name, and the eldest was my playmate, and a
sad pickle he was* When he was old enough he
would go into the army ; he was soon sent to the
West Indies, where the yellow fever finished him.
His next brother, Stafford, after his father's death
inherited the family estates. Many years after this,

* Blatherwycke, in County Northampton, and Cratloe Woods
County Clare, Ireland

* Margaret Flenary.

12 ELERS MEMOIRS

and some years after I returned from the East
Indies, I went on a tour with Lord Bemers into
Northamptonshire, and among other gendemen's
seats we visited Mr. O'Brien s. I recollected many
of the principal rooms, and particularly the nursery
and stables ; but where were the laughing, squalling
children ? Some dead, and the rest married. They
all married well, and some into noble families.
Mrs. Stafford O'Brien was the Hon. Miss Noel,
and, when I knew her, young, gay, and handsome.
But since that she has become what they call very
evangelical.

To return to the scenes of my childhood. Not-
withstanding the delight I took in beating the
covers after game, riding, fishing, etc., my education
was not neglected. I was taught writing by an old
schoolmaster of the name of Rowell, and by the
time I was six years old could both read and write
and repeat the first dozen pages of my ' Accidence,'
a litde book that was destined afterwards to be the
source of great torment and grief to me at the
school I afterwards was sent to. Thus passed the
really happy days of my childhood, indulged by my
uncle, idolized by my aunt, and petted by the
servants, when one fine day my mother arrived in a
hack-chaise, and I was given to understand that I
must be off for London with her in the course of a
few days for the purpose of being sent to school.
Of my poor mother I had not the smallest recollec-
tion. She was very tall and thin and pale, and

AUTHOR^S PARENTS

much marked with the smalI-pox» and in many other
respects the reverse of my aunt, who was inclined
IQ be fat, and had a fine colour. It was a heart-
breaking parting for all of us except my mother.

It was in the autumn of the year 1785 that we
left these happy scenes of my childhood, and my
mother and self arrived at my fathers house in
Great Russell Street on the evening of the second
day. My father was a handsome, dark-bearded
man» with remarkably fine white teeth, very good-
natured» but very passionate. My mother was a most
pious and excellent woman, but of a most irritable
disposition, letting very little matters vex her ; and I
feel conscious that from this unfortunate disposition
of hers I was the source of great annoyance to her,
not only as a child, but also when a big boy, the
reflection of which has often, cifen to ihis hour, been
a cause of bitter sorrow and repentance to me, for
which, and all other of my numerous sins and trans-
gressions, I beg pardon of Almighty God I
honoured and respected both my parents ; but from
being separated from them ere I knew them, 1
never felt that unbounded affection and love for
them that I felt for my dear Aunt Charlotte. Such
are the impressions, never to be eradicated, of our
childhood.

On my arrival at home my two brothers were
absent, the elder at a boarding-school, the
younger, Edward, your father, at that time four
years of age, on a visit with two of his aunts at

14 ELERS MEMOIRS

Twickenham. Christmas at length arrived, which
brought home my elder brother from school for the
holidays, and my father went to Twickenham with
me for my aunts and little brother. I remember it
was a severe frost, and I rode upon the box with
the coachman and was nearly frozen. I recollect
my little brother Ned was a fine little fellow in petti-
coats ; large blue eyes, a fine fair skin, and light
straight hair, very saucy and very passionate, bold
and daring — in short, a boy that any mother might
well be proud of. My elder brother was a fine boy
of twelve years old, and from having been at school
at Mr. Crawford's at Chiswick for three years was
in comparison to us quite a man, at least in know-
ledge and experience. He took care during the
holidays to give me my lesson how I was to conduct
myself, and the line of conduct I was to pursue on
my arrival at the school. On my first entrde he
told me it was indispensable that I should establish
my character for courage by taking the very first
opportunity of fighting a battle, at the same time
candidly telling me that if it was found out by any
of the ushers or masters, a good flogging would be
the consequence.

With this pleasant assurance, one fine winter
morning my father and mother took us both in a
glass coach to Mr. Crawford's school at Chiswick.
I had but one consolation : my little pockets were
stuffed out with oranges, nuts, apples, and sweet-
meats, and a large purse filled with half-crowns.

SCHOOL AT CHISWICK

shillings, and sixpences. In the course of the first
hoiir» on my arrival in the school-room, the head
usher, a tall, pale-faced young man in the last stage
of consumption, by the name of the Reverend
Mn Lancaster, took me by the hand, opened his
desk, and pointing to a large rod, hoped 1 never
should be better acquainted with it. The school-
room was a large one, capable of holding 100 boys ;
folding-doors divided it from the dining-room, which
was also devoted to dancing, drawing, and fencing —
twice a week. Monsieur Toutel presided over the
first, Mr. Noble and his nephew over the second,
and the justly celebrated Angelo taught us the use
of the foils* The dwelling-house, a very large one,
was devoted to the parlour boarders and as sleeping
rooms for the rest of the boys. In the room in
which my brother and self slept were about eight
beds, each containing two boys ; among them were
some very big ones. Among the oldest of the boys
was one by the name of Holroyd^ and he gave me
to understand that I was to be his fag, and that
among other things I was to do for him was to clean
his shoes, and fetch his water in a large pitcher to
wash himself with, and to do any other jobs that he
might require. At first the novelty of the thing
amused me, but afterwards, being obliged to get out
of my warm bed half an hour earlier than the usual
time of rising proved to be a hardship and a source
of annoyance- Among other methods of tyranny
which the elder boys practised upon the younger

1 6 ELERS MEMOIRS

ones was to force them to strip themselves naked,
go downstairs, and when the frost and snow had
been on the ground to run round the playground
three or four times while they lay snug in their
warm beds. Tossing the little boys in blankets was
another favourite diversion ; pulling off the bed-
clothes and giving them what they called 'cold
pigs ' another. All these freaks, they said, were to
make them hardy and tough. It appeared to me
very severe discipline, brought up as I was from
my earliest recollection with so much care and in-
dulgence.

I had been at school but a few days, when an
opportunity offered to indulge my pugnacious dis-
position, or rather to follow the instructions of my
brother. During the hour allowed us for our breakfast
and play, I got into a quarrel with a little boy about
my own age of the name of Vansittart, and we
adjourned to the playground, in front of a high wall
where we used to play fives, to decide it. We had
only fought two or three rounds, when one of the
ushers captured us both and took us into the
dwelling-house, where the master, Mr. Crawford,
and his family were at breakfast. But instead of
being punished I got caressed and praised, in con-
sequence of some happy speech I made about my
honour, and that I should not be thought a coward
by the school on my first arrival. My next battle
was with a little stout boy of the name of Richard
Parry, one of the sons of the East India Director.

THE PARRYS

There were several brothers at the school, but
George was the elder, a fine, manly young fellow.
He, seeing us quarrelling, took one in each hand,
and declared we should settle it as gentlemen.
Whether I found Richard too strong for me, or was
cowed by the presence of the elder brother, I can-
not recollect, but I soon gave up the contest. Poor
Richard afterwards went to India or China, and
made and was left by his father an immense fortune ;
married and left an only son, Thomas, a very fine
young man, heir to all his wealth* George, the
elder, I met afterwards in the East Indies; he is
dead, with all his brothers, my school-fellows, with
the exception of Henry, who is now living, and whom
I have often the pleasure of seeing and talking over
with him our schoolboy adventures* Henry had a
brother, William, and those two, dressed precisely
alike and with not above one year of difference in
iheir age, I remember as distinctly as yesterday.

As a proof of the strength of my recollection, I
was breakfasting at Fladong's Hotel about three or
four years ago with a friend of mine, when he said a
Mn Henry Parry from India was living there. I
said 1 made no doubt it was my old school- fellow,
and although he wore spectacles I instantly re-
. coUected him. It was about forty-seven years since
we had seen each other. Among other boys who
in after- life rose to distinction was Copley, the
present Lord Lyndhurst ; he was a tall boy of
ihirteen years of age. Also the two Fullers, the

1 8 ELERS MEMOIRS

eldest, William, killed at Waterloo. His brother
Joseph, who went by the name of Sleepy Joe, is
now Sir Joseph Fuller, commanding a regiment of
infantry. The three Reads, the youngest of whom
gave me a severe beating. The two younger Reads
went to India, made large fortunes, and returned
home ; and many others I now recollect who are
too numerous to mention. I afterwards met several
of my old school-fellows in civil and military situa-
tions in the East Indies. I endured much cruelty
from an Irish usher by the name of Sullivan. He
had the charge of the little boys, and used to teach
them the Latin grammar. This brute used to walk
into the, country of a Sunday afternoon, and amuse
himself with cutting from the hedges ash sticks
sufficient to last for the week, until they got broken
upon our little backs and arms. He then concluded
his evening by getting drunk at some hedge ale-
house, the effects of which were visible on the next
day, Monday ; for he was always half asleep the
whole of that day, and being afflicted with an
inveterate asthma, he had a most disgusting way
of expectorating on the floor. This is the only
instance I can mention of the severity of the under-
masters, who were in general kind and good-
tempered, particularly Mr. Crawford, who wore
a large, bushy Johnsonian wig, and in person was
not unlike, but not so tall as, the great lexicographer.
I remained at school until the autumn, when I went
home ill with the measles, and before Christmas
poor Mr. Crawford died of the dropsy.

CHAPTER II

Dr, Barrow's school — The middy schoolboy— Listen, the actor —
Oxfordshire — Cousin Sophia — Oxford— Blenheim — Honger-
ford Elers gazetted to the 43rd Regiment

Mv father after Christmas sent my brother and self
as a half-boarder to the Rev. Dr, Barrow in Soho
Square.

I must conclude with my recollections of Chiswick,

"and in doing so must not forget a clean, respectable,
middle-aged woman that attended the school twice
a week with a wicker basket covered over with a
white napkin, containing apples, oranges, ginger-
bread, nuts, elecampane, and nice lollipops. Every
Sunday a friend of my fathers called upon my
brother and myself, and took us into the village to
a pastrycook, by name Rabbinell, and stuffed us
with good things, afterwards bringing us home and
invariably dismissing us with a shilling apiece in
our pockets, which as constantly found its way into
those of our friend Molly. Every Saturday night
the junior part of the school underwent a thorough
good scrubbing from two damsels standing and pre-
siding over a large tub of water, with yellow soap

^d towels coarse enough for a mainsail of a man -of-

[ 19 ] 2— z

20 ELERS MEMOIRS

war. These two nymphs used to scrub us most
unmercifully. My skin was particularly tender and
delicate, and the rough and pitiless Hannah caused
me to roar out most lamentably. The other girl
was called Peggy — pretty, though slightly marked
with small-pox. Our man-servant was called Billy
Beaks, and with him I conclude my reminiscences
of Mr. Crawford, of Chiswick.

Dr. Barrow's school in Soho Square had from
about eighty to a hundred boys. It was not of such
aristocratic pretensions as that of Chiswick, yet
there were a few boys of good family and connec-
tions. Among them were the two Honourable
Mr. Dormers (both of them succeeded to be
Barons) ; William JoUiffe, father of the present
Baronet; Sir Philip Belson, long commanding the
28th Regiment, and one of the heroes of Waterloo ;
a fine, brave, and clever boy of the name of Andrew
Allen, his father an American loyalist, and he bom
in America (he was the great champion of the
school) ; the two Durnfords, both afterwards Lieu-
tenant-Colonels in the Guards ; the two Douglases,
the elder of whom is a great favourite with the
present Duke of Rutland, a good sportsman, and
formerly a good gentleman rider at races, which
obtained for him the name of * Split-post Douglas,'
from shaving the posts so close ; a boy called Boys,
who left school for two or three months to go to sea,
and joined as a jolly ' mid * the Queen Charlotte just
before Lord Howes victory on June i. He got his

DR, BARROW'S SCHOOL

leg shot off in the action^ and immediately he got
well he returned to school to finish his education.
You may suppose how all the boys stared when he
stumped into school with his wooden leg» for he was
so short a time absent he was scarcely missed. I
shall never forget my astonishment He afterwards
tapidly attained the rank of Post-Captain, and died
with the reputation of a good officer.

Soho Square has produced some good actors.
Before my time Fawcett, Hoi man, and Morton (the
celebrated dramatic author) received their education
there. They are now all dead^ the latter very lately.
The inimitable Liston, about my own age, but I
think one or two years my senior, I remember well.
I have every reason to recollect him. The master,
Dr Barrow, a very good man, but severe and
passionate when provoked, was sitting at his desk
gravely admonishing me from time to time for some
fault of omission, or perhaps commission, when
directly over and behind the Doctor s shoulder my
eye was attracted by the grimaces of Liston, and
I absolutely screamed with laughter. The conse-
quence was a shower of hard blows from the enraged
master, that made me scream to quite another tune.
I once asked Liston if he recollected the circum-
f stance, but he has been too much accustomed to
make people laugh to remember so trifling a cir-
cumstance. We were allowed every Christmas to
I get up one of the plays of Shakespeare, together
with a farce, which I believe gave the first impulse

22 ELERS MEMOIRS

to the celebrated actors I have mentioned in making
the stage their profession. The tragedy of ' Lear '
and the farce of *The Mayor of Garrett' were
the last pieces ever acted there. We afterwards
had every Christmas speeches and orations, together
with a prologue written by Dr. Barrow, instead of
the play and farce, which were attended with too
great a sacrifice of time to get up. Among the
other boys were the two sons of Mr. Boswell, the
author of the * Life of Johnson.* These boys were
clever, but with a strong Scotch accent The eldest,
Alexander, I had a battle with. I forget how it
terminated; but I dare say I was beaten, as he
was both older and bigger than myself. Poor
fellow ! he was killed in a duel a few years since
(March 26, 1822). He was created a Baronet
August 16, 182 1.

I had not been at school in Soho more than two
months ere I was seized with a dangerous fever,
and the celebrated Dr. Turton attended me. I was
reduced so much that I had strong symptoms of
consumption, and I was sent into the country to a
pretty house at Sunbury, where my two aunts,
Amelia and Jane, resided. I was ordered to get up
before breakfast, and walk about two miles to a
farmhouse and drink warm milk from the cow ; then
return home to breakfast, after which, about twelve
o'clock, I had some famous jelly that went by the
name of the Duke of Gloucester's, having been of
service to him on his recovery from some illness.

UNCLE COLSTON

What with fishing, cricket, riding a pony, bird-
nesting, and a little reading, I contrived to pass
away my time. The only drawback was that I had
no playfellows of my own rank, only one quiet, good
boy of the name of Woodward, whose father was
an honest carpenter in the village. He knew his
place, and although I treated him with kindness and
condescension, never forgot his situation or pre-
sumed upon It. After having re-established my
health, I returned home and resumed my studies at
Soho Square,

I perfecdy recollect the French Revolution of
1 789, and how our morning paper was filled with
It* At first, I remember, it was hailed with en-
thusiasm, particularly the destruction of the Bastille.
I well remember my brother and self going, under
the care of bur faithful servant, James Pearson, to
Sadler's Wells to see the representation of the
storming of the Bastille.

In the course of the next summer the Rev,
Alexander Colston, who had married one of my
aunts, came on a visit to my father. He had lately
lost his mother, and had come into large estates
and ready money. He was a kind-hearted creature,
and very good-humoured to us boys. One evening
I was walking with him in the Museum Gardens,
when he proposed to me to come down and spend
my midsummer holidays at his house in Oxford-
shire. I was delighted, and it was settled that I
was to come down with my aunt and my cousin

24 ELERS MEMOIRS

Louisa — a fine-grown woman of about twenty-
four — in a post-chaise. He said: 'My dear
George, you will be so happy ; there's your two
cousins — Sophia, just sixteen, and Mary, fifteen —
perfect little loves ! Then there's Edward, Alex-
ander, Tom, and Will, your cousins. And we shall
all be so happy. You will sing and dance with the
girls, and ride and play billiards with the boys.'
I was delighted with the anticipation of all this
fun, and got my wardrobe all ready ; among other
fashionable parts of my clothing was a pair of leather
unmentionables that I had the greatest difficulty of
getting into — a feat I accomplished not without
assistance. Our servant, I recollect, fairly lifted
me off the ground in the operation. And then the
buttoning of them, and, when once buttoned, the
difficulty of undoing !

After passing a sleepless night and encasing my-
self with the utmost difficulty, the chaise arrived at
the door. I shall never forget the lashing on of the
trunks and the piling up of the bandboxes, hat-
cases, etc., all belonging to the ladies, to astonish
the country folks with the last London fashions ; and
my poor, unfortunate little person wedged in between
two (to me) large ladies in my tight leathers. Oh
the misery I endured in a hot, broiling day in the
month of June travelling seventy-two miles !

At last we arrived by supper-time, and two lovely
girls and some of the young men were waiting to
receive us. I shall never forget how much they

LOVELY SOPHIA

made of me, for, not having any sisters, it was the
first time in my life I was domesticated with any
young ladies, with the exception of the Miss
Moncktons when T was a mere child, and they
were approaching womanhood. At this time I was
just past fourteen years of age. My cousin Sophia
was a lovely girl of sixteen, with most beautiful
dark eyes, long hair in ringlets of the darkest brown
hanging over her face and down her back, according
to the fashion of the day, a skin delicately white,
her cheeks like new-blown roses, and her figure
slight and symmetrical Mary was one year
younger — a blonde» with a lovely complexion, and
rather inclined to embonpoint; what, moreover,
raised her in my estimation was the great likeness
she bore to my dear aunt Charlotte Kerby, Not-
withstanding all this, my heart was irrecoverably
lost lo Sophia. It seems that when my poor dear
mother parted from me, she gave me into the
special charge of my cousin Louisa, making her
promise to see to my linen, and, above all, to attend
upon me to my bedroom at night, and to see the
candle taken away safely, as the maids always did
at our house in town. I proposed to her, very
innocently, that she should delegate this authority
lo my dear Sophia ; but she would not hear of it, as
she said she had made my mother a promise, and
that she would perform it. 1 gave up the point, and
received a chaste salute as a reward for my docility.
I think it was from my mother that I inherited an

26 ELERS MEMOIRS

ear for music ; I am sure it was not from my father,
notwithstanding his German descent. So I used to
sing, accompanied by Sophia on the piano. She
had a little thoroughbred mare she called Fanny, a
little racer in miniature, and when she rode out,
which was generally every day, I went with her on
a smaller pony called Little Dick. Burford Downs
were only about four miles off, where the famous
racecourse called Bibury existed. Here we used to
gallop and ride our races.

It happened during the summer that I was down
there that the musical meeting took place at Oxford.
I really think it was on the occasion of the instal-
lation of the late Duke of Portland as Chancellor.
We formed a good party to go over there ; the
distance was about twenty miles. I rode Sophia's
beautiful pony, and she went in the carriage with
her sisters and my aunt. I never shall forget how
much the young ladies were admired by the young
Oxonians, and what pride and delight I took in the
prancing and curvetting of my little pony as we
entered the High Street of Oxford, and turned into
the inn, the Star and Garter, at that time the best
inn in the town. I recollect, and, indeed, never can
forget, the crowded theatre, filled with lovely
women, and the attention paid to the orations of
the different students. All was order and decorum.
The next day was the music, and I recollect
Billington, Mrs. Crouch, Signora Storace, and Kelly
singing there with Harrison.

BLENHEIM

We made a party to see the famous house and
park at Blenheim. I never can forget the entrance
into that princely residence. I had seen and lived
at Burleigh, but this far surpassed it. The magni-
ficent entrance out of the little town of Woodstock,
and the palace instantly bursting on your view in
front and on your right ; the superb and noble
bridge, one arch stretching over the immense lake ;
the deer grouped about the rich, verdant lawn ; the
masses of noble trees in the distance ; and the broad,
gravel, slightly-winding road up to the house, which
was so hard that our carriage- wheels made no im-
pression upon it, and not a leaf to be seen upon it,
thirty gardeners being constantly employed about
the pleasure-grounds — I thought all this perfect
enchantment. I remember it was intensely hot, and
we sought a delicious cool grotto near a cascade,
and here with a book, reclined on the turf, lay a
remarkably handsome young French nobleman.
He got up with all the grace of a Frenchman
in those days (soon after the Revolution), and
announced himself as the Marquis de Romanville*
He paid the most marked attention to my beautiful
Sophia, and I could not but feel my inferiority and
the contrast between the accomplished man and the
litde schoolboy* I was consoled, however, by the
shyness of my lovely cousin, who never quitted my
side. However, she acknowledged to me after-
wards she had never seen any man with such
elegant manners* And this I can very well

28 ELERS MEMOIRS

believe, brought up as she was in rural retire-
ment.

After spending three or four days at Oxford,
seeing all the lions, and escorted about by many
of our young friends — for two of my cousins
belonged to Trinity — we returned home to dear
Filkins Hall. At length my holidays terminated.
It was arranged that a servant was to accompany
me early in the morning (six o'clock) to the town of
Lechlade, three miles off, to meet the London
coach. After supper I took a final leave of the
happy party. The three sisters slept in different
beds in the same large room. Now, notwith-
standing that I had both given and received many
affectionate kisses from the young ladies at parting
after supper, I could not resist, as I passed their
room door in the morning, just peeping in to take
one last fond look. And there I saw them, all fast
asleep. On tip-toe, without shoes, in I crept, and
on the rosy lips of my lovely Sophia I breathed one
kiss. I did not give her time to scold, for I made
a most hasty retreat. I never can forget how dull
and monotonous my father's house appeared to me
after the delightful five weeks I had spent at my
uncle's.

When at school I thought of nothing but Sophia.
At the same desk sat with me a boy of the name of
Glegg. He was about three years older than
myself. I confided to him my melancholy, and told
him I no longer took delight in those amusements

SOPHIA'S DEATH

that I once was so fond of. He said : ' I know
what is the matter with you. I have experienced
the same uneasiness. You are in love.' And so I
certainly was. I have since thought I caught the
infection rather early — little more than fourteen
years of age. Lord Byron^ I think, says he began
at nine. However, so it was ; my time was come,
and I took it as I did the measles — all in the natural
way. I promised my fair cousin to write to her,
and she sent me an answer filled with all the chit-
chat of the day ; but all my professions of love she
invariably used to laugh at, and said it was all
fancy, that I should get over it, etc. I am con-
vinced I never made the slightest impression upon
her, or ever should have done» as I have since been
informed by ladies who knew her well After I
went abroad she formed a most romantic attach-
ment to a young lady by the name of Arabella Ross.
At that time Lady E. Butler and the Hon, Miss
Ponsonby lived in Wales together. Their affection,
I presume, was founded on similar principles. I
only received one letter from poor Sophia in the
East Indies, in answer to one of mine. She wrote
in good spirits, but said she was ill, with a bad
cough. Very soon after I read of her death of a
rapid consumption, and she died at Brompton at the
early age of twenty-five, leaving the whole of her
fortune to her friend, Miss Ross, for her life. My
cousin Louisa married a clergyman of the name of
Bell, and lived near Oxford. Mary married the

30 ELERS MEMOIRS

Hon. George Browne, third son of the first Lord
Kilmaine.

My father was on terms of great friendship and
intimacy with the family of Streatfield, an old
Kentish family. Mrs. Streatfield, I think, was a
natural daughter of the last Earl of Leicester. My
father was executor to Mrs. Perry, of Penshurst
Place in Kent, grandmother to the present Sir John
Sidney, Bart. She was great-niece of the last Earl
of Leicester.^ Hence, I suppose, his intimacy and
friendship with Mrs. Streatfield, who was always
very kind to myself and brothers. She had two
daughters, one of them married to a Mr. Brace-
bridge, who had an only daughter. Mrs. B. was
a lovely woman, while her daughter was a very
plain but clever girl. This was a great fault in
the eyes of her grandmamma, Mrs. S., whose
great weakness, like that of King James L, was
the love of handsome young people. Her eldest
daughter had a pale, intellectual countenance, very
clever and accomplished, unmarried, and very
intimate with the families of the Snows, the Ogles,
and also with Porteus, Bishop of London, whom I
used often to meet there.

1 Mrs. Perry was niece, not great-niece, of Josceline, seventh
Earl of Leicester.

Henry Streatfield, of Chiddingstone, Kent, married, at Enfield,
Anne, natural daughter of Josceline, seventh Earl of Leicester,
September 25, 1752; their daughter Harriet married Walter
Bracebridge, second son of Abraham Bracebridge, of Atherstone,
and died March 4, 1824.

HUNGERFORD ELERS

3»

My elder brother, Hungerford, had always a
strong predilection for the Army, and at sixteen
used constantly, whenever he could steal into the
Park, to attend the reviews and drills of the
Guards* I rather think he got one of them to
teach him the manual and platoon exercise. It so
happened that he expressed how much he should
be delighted to get an ensigncy in a regiment in
a conversation he had with Mrs. and Miss Streat-
field. Lord Amherst at that time (1794) was
Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Miss Streat-
field mentioned my brother's name to him and his
great desire to become a soldier^ adding that he was
already one in a very essential point, that o? knowing
his duty and exercise by attending the drills in the
Park as an amateur. This pleased the old General,
and shortly after my brother saw himself gazetted to
an ensigncy in the 43rd Regiment, under orders for
the West Indies. At this time that country was
affiicted with the yellow fever, and few escaped who
went there. My poor mother was quite horror-
struck. However, my brother did not go there at
that time, but was ordered down to Shrewsbury to
recruit.

CHAPTER III

Edward Elers enters the Navy — ^The Queen and Edward's minia-
ture — Mother dies — Her jewels — Gazetted to the 90th Regi-
ment — Exchanges into the 12 th— Sartorial splendours —
Colonel Aston.

It was about this time my poor father became in-
volved in great pecuniary difficulties by becoming
security for a friend for a large sum of money. His
friend fled to the Continent, leaving my father
answerable for his debts. My youngest brother at
this time having long before evinced a desire to
enter the Navy, and as it had become absolutely
necessary we should (I mean we boys) be sent into
the world to push our fortunes, Edward was fitted
out for sea as a midshipman, and was confided to
the care of Captain Moss, of the Mermaid frigate,
about to proceed to the North Seas. I believe this
brave officer fell after, in one of Lord Nelson's
actions. My brother Edward at this time was a
tall, thin, pale-faced boy of about twelve or thirteen
years old. He was the whole of a hard winter in
the North Seas, feeding on salt beef and drinking
his allowance of grog. He became in that cruise a

[32]

EDWARD ELERS

boy, so grown and altered for
his poor niother did not know

le, handsome
the better that
him.

At this time an artist was painting a miniature of
mc, and my little brother accompanied me in his
blue jacket, white trousers, dirk and cockade in his
hat to the painter*s house. The artist was so much
pleased with his appearance that he made a water-
colour drawing of him, which satisfied him so
well that he sent it among other drawings to Saint
James's Palace for the inspection of Her Majesty
and the Princesses. The Queen was delighted with
the sketch of the Httle sailor, and asked many
questions about his name, etc. My brother after-
wards sailed with Captain Warre, and saw some
fighting. He was one among the other gallant
fellows who took a French vessel, and enclosed
a tri - coloured cockade to my mother as a
trophy.

My poor mother had for many winters suffered
very severely from asthma, and each winter it grew
worse. The misfortunes of my father, added to the
separation from her two children, I think, hastened
her death. She died one evening after being confined
to her bed for about a week. This was about the
middle of December. 1795. You may imagine my
feelings, left alone by myself, my father and two
brothers absent, no one but the three servants with me
— the faithful James Pearson, his wife, my mothers
maid, and the cook. They (the females) were quite

34 ELERS MEMOIRS

worn out by their attendance, and by a desperate
effort I resolved to pass that night in sitting up in
the same room with my poor dead mother as the
last mark of my respect to her. My mother was
buried in the vault of her family at Bromley, where
her brother, John Debonnaire, was placed the
September preceding. I wrote to my brother,
who was then at Shrewsbury, and he came up to
my mother's funeral. My aunt and cousin, the
Debonnaires, were very kind to us during this
melancholy period, and Miss Debonnaire,^ with the
assistance of a Mr. Hutchinson, a worthy, good man,
notwithstanding that he was a lawyer by profession,
was my mother's trustee. He arranged the dis-
posal of the lease and fufniture of the house, as also
of my mother's diamonds, the produce of which was
to be divided among us three children. We were
shamefully cheated with respect to the jewels. As
a proof, there were three jewellers appointed to
value the diamonds and trinkets. It so happened
that a bracelet containing my father's picture, set
round with sixty brilliants, a most exquisite painting
by the famous Smart, was valued at ten guineas
only. My brother expressed a wish to have this
picture and bought it in. Many years after, on the
death of my brother, this picture came into my
possession, and I found that the diamonds were

^ 'My aunt'— !>., Ann, nke Tennant, wife of John Debon-
naire; and 'cousin,' their daughter Anne, who married William
Tennant, of Little Aston Hall, County Stafford.

THE HUTCHINSONS

worth four times that amount. Ifi therefore, this
one article of small value was so far underestimated,
how much must we have lost upon earrings, neck-
lace, etc», which were worth much more? I was
between eighteen and nineteen when I lost my
mother, and the little property I acquired by that
sad event I could not receive until I was of age.
The same kind friend who procured my brother his 1
commission procured me one also through Mr, Green-
wood, the Army agent

When our house was disposed of, I had an intro-
duction to an old lady of the name of Leigh, who
had a neat, small house in Store Street, Bedford
Square. She resided with her unmarried daughter,
an old maid. With these ladies I lodged until the
month of April I used to breakfast with them, and
I had an invitation from my kind friend Mr. Hut-
chinson to dine with his family and pass my time
with them whenever I was disengaged. In those
days, although seventy years of age, he could drink
his wine and enjoy the company of young people,
and his wife was just as good-humoured as himself.
They had three daughters ; one a decided old maid,
the second about thirty- two, and the youngest about
twenty-^ight. 1 used to ride about the town with
the ladies in the morning, and played cards with
them in the evening, generally getting home to
Store Street by midnight

I was taught to expect that I should see my name
in the Gazette very shortly, when to my great joy

36 ELERS MEMOIRS

one Saturday in the month of March I saw :
'George Elers, gent, to be Ensign without pur-
chase in the 90th Regiment.' I was highly pleased,
and read it over and over again — the first time I
ever saw my name in print. I dare say there are
many old officers who, if they confessed the truth,
once felt as I did on a similar occasion. It was the
fashion in those days to be dressed in the evening
at the theatres in shoes and stockings and a cocked
hat. I was already provided with the hat, and, as
you may suppose, I lost no time in mounting the
cockade and a rosette for my hair. Colonel Graham
was our Colonel ; he raised the corps, became Lord
Lynedoch, and is still alive. The regiment was
stationed in the West Indies. I had not been a
fortnight an Ensign when I had the offer of a
lieutenancy in the 12th Regiment under Colonel
William Picton, one of the Minden heroes. The
two Lieutenant-Colonels were Henry Hervey Aston
and Thomas Grey, the former about thirty-five, the
latter about twenty-four. They were two of the
handsomest men I ever saw, particularly Aston,
who was so celebrated as a man of ton and fashion.
Grey^ was the son of General Sir Charles Grey, and
brother to the statesman, Earl Grey. I purchased
this commission, and gave ;^ioo above the regulated
price ; but it was a great step to get so early, and,
besides, I had the advantage of a most particular

^ No * Thomas Grey ' is to be found in the * Peerage ' sub * Earl
Grey '; possibly it is an error for * William.'

JOINS 12TH REGIMENT

introduction to Colonel Aston, who, until his
lamenied death, ever treated me like a father. My
outfit cost me about ^^300. I had nothing to do ^
but order what I wanted^ and the bills were sent
in to Mr. Hutchinson^ who paid them. No officer,
with the exception of Colonel Aston, had such a
kit- I had six regimental jackets, besides dress-
coats, great-coat, shirts about twelve dozen, and
everything in the same proportion. My lieutenancy
was dated April 12, 1796. I waited upon my
Colonel, who at that time was living at Nerots
Hotel, King Street, St, James's. I was aware, even
tn those days, of the effect of first impressions, and
took great pains to be dressed well on my first
appearance before him. His features and fine figure
1 knew perfectly by sight. I was dressed in black
coat and waistcoat, white worsted pantaloons, and
neat Hessian half- boots, with a crape hat-band. I
was ushered into his dressing-room, where he was
putting the last finish to his toilet I told him who
I was. He shook me by the hand, eyed me most
critically from head to foot, said I turned out welly
and finished by asking me the name of my tailor.
I was ashamed to confess it was an obscure one by
the name of Weston, then not known, but after-
wards the celebrated artiste for the Prince of Wales.
He recommended me strongly to join my regiment
without delay, adding : * I shall be down myself in
a day or two, and I should wish you to learn a little
of your duty before we embark for the East Indies^

38 ELERS MEMOIRS

to which place we are under orders.* I saw him
step into his curricle with all the grace of an Apollo ;
he once more shook me by the hand, and told me
I should make a very fair light infantryman, and
wished me good-morning.

CHAPTER IV

Jcnns his regiment at Newport — Placed in light infantry company
— A pugnacious Irishman — Embarks for India— Lady pas-
sengers—The Prince of Wales's commendation — The wine
limit^ — An unlucky accomplishment.

Ik a very few days, by the kind assistance of one
of my fair friends, Miss N, Hutchinson, every-
thing was packed up in my trunks^canteens and
camp equipage, with various letters of introduction
and recommendation, among others one from Lady
Burnaby to Rear- Admiral Rainier, commanding the
Indian Fleet; Sir William Burnaby, an old Post-
Captain, was my brother Edward's godfather, and
a ver)^ old friend of my fathers. Lady Burnaby s
sister, a Miss Molyneux, afterwards was married
to my first cousin, Dr. William Colston, who is now
living, and has the excellent living of West Lydford,
Somersetshire.

1 started by one of the Gosport coaches, and
arrived at the Indian Arms at Gosport in the
evening. The inn was all bustle and confusion-
plenty of officers, like myself, on the route to join
their respective regiments. My regiment was
stationed at Newport, Isle of Wight. The next

[59]

40 ELERS MEMOIRS

morning I was much disgusted at the dirty bed and
room I had been put into; the chambermaid, I
conclude, saw that I was a young Johnny Raw, and
that anything would do for such a young one as me.
I proceeded to Cowes, hired a chaise, and was put
down at the Bugle. I inquired for the regiment,
and was told that they were at exercise a short
distance out of town. I strolled out to them, when
I saw the regiment formed into square and a punish-
ment taking place. I got into conversation with a
handsome young officer I had seen in London with
some friends of mine a few days before, though I
then did not know who he was. He proved to be
the Hon. John Meade, a son of the Earl of Clan-
william. The punishment over, the commanding
officer gave the word : * Attention ! Numbers
four, five, six, will stand fast. Remaining com-
panies will wheel back four paces. Right about
face ! Quick march !' And then, as if by magic,
the regiment was formed into open column of com-
panies. The band struck up, the word * Quick
march!' was given, and I, by. the side of my
honourable friend, marched into Newport, keeping
the step like an old soldier instead of a raw recruit.
I shall never forget the shrillness of the fifes, the
effect of the hollow, martial sounds of the drums
which played, and on their ceasing at intervals
being taken up by the band. I literally trod on
air. The battalion having been dismissed, my new
friend the Honourable introduced me to all the

REGIMENTAL VETERANS

officers, I having previously told him my name and
rank. The officers crowded round me, and dear
old Jack Picton, the Major, came up to me, shook
me by the hand, and said : * You will, of course,
join us at our mess at five o'clock ?' Next to him
came up our paymaster and second, Captain Allen,
together with the Captain of Grenadiers, Captain
Craigie. All of these were the oldest veterans in
the Service, and had served with the regiment at the
siege of Gibraltan I shall never forget their fine
martial figures and swarthy complexions. Major
Picton was the very image of his gallant brother,
Sir Thomas, who fell at Waterloo, though not so
tall — a compact, strong man of about forty years of
age, and in height about 5 feet 9 inches. I dined
at the mess, and notwithstanding that I drank wine
with all the officers who were drinking wine, I did
not get tipsy. I was sufficiently on my guard not
to make a fool of myself on my first entnfe, I
observed that the officers who drank wine were
chiefly the senior ones, and that the subalterns,
chiefly very young men and almost all young Irish
officers, had lately joined from Irish regiments
reduced of very high number — I really think from
a regiment numbering as high as 130*

In the course of two or three days Colonel Aston
joined the regiment, and redeemed his promise to
me, for I was immediately appointed to the light
infantry company. I was obliged to send up to
London for a sabre and wings instead of epaulettes,

42 ELERS MEMOIRS

and lots of narrow gold lace for my scarlet waistcoat.
We wore blue pantaloons edged with scarlet, hats
covered over with the finest black ostrich feathers,
with a stand-up feather composed of red and black.
They looked very handsome, but were expensive,
particularly when those who could afford it had
about three times the quantity they needed to wear.
A good hard shower of rain soon took their smart-
ness off, but they were only adopted by ourselves
and the 8oth Regiment expressly for the East
Indies. I never shall forget the first time I saw
Colonel Aston in his regimentals — his fine military
figure, and all his appointments fitting so well.
How many hundred officers have I since seen, but
not one to be compared with his noble, chivalrous
bearing, not even his friend Arthur Wellesley, now
the great and illustrious Duke !

I was put in orders for the light company,
commanded by Captain Woodall ; my brother
subalterns were two Irishmen, George Nixon and
Perceval. Colonel Aston exercised the regiment
every morning for about a couple of hours, and the
young subalterns were drilled by the second Major,
Bellairs, a very kind, brave, but indifferent officer.
He had been at Gibraltar, but he would have been
sadly puzzled to put the regiment through any of
the manoeuvres. I think at this time I puzzled the
young men of the regiment and made the old ones
smile. My looks and slight figure made me appear
about sixteen, when in fact I was near nineteen ;

A FIRE-EATING SUBALTERN

iving, moreover, led a gay life in town, I had
acquired quite the manners of one of the initiated in
fashionable life, and was very different from the raw
Irish lads who composed the greater part of the
subaJtems. One of them, of the name of George
Eld Derby, a youth of about my own age, thus very
gravely addressed the mess one evening after
dtoner : * By Jasus, gentlemen, I am conscious you
must have the meanest opinion of my courage.
Here have I been no less than six weeks with the
regiment, and the divil of a duel have I fought yet.
Now, Captain Craigie, you are the senior Captain
of the regiment^ and if you plase I will begin with
you first ; so name your time and place.' Now,
very many of these subaltern officers were of the
stamp of my friend Mn Derby. So a man could
not be too guarded in his conduct with such heroes.
Nothing, however, occurred unpleasant previous to
embarkation ; but in the two months spent on board
some of the ships' quarrels occurred that were settled
by an appeal to the pistols. Several duels took
place at the Cape, but none terminated fatally,
though some officers got badly wounded. We had
no quarrels on board our ship. It is true that
within three weeks of our arrival at Madras I
received an insult, and immediately sent a challenge
to the officer who had given it, and he very wisely
made me a most satisfactory apology. My second
was a regular Irish duellist, and he was perfectly
satisfied with it, as well as myself.

44 ELERS MEMOIRS

But to return once more to Newport and the
charms of the island. I think their market-day
was Saturday, when the rural beauties, with their
fresh butter, eggs, and chickens, appeared in the
market, blooming with youth, freshness, and inno-
cence. What pleasant rides have I taken, and
generally by myself, in the most unfrequented and
romantic parts of the island, often dining in a fisher-
man's hut or little, neat, sanded parlour off eggs
and bacon and a pint of ale, attended by some of the
rural beauties of the island ! How well I remember
Shanklin Chine, and, looking over the high cliff,
contemplating the blue and sparkling sea that I was
so soon to be floating over to distant climes, in all
probability never again to return ! But these melan-
choly reflections were not of long duration. I had
youth, health, and was naturally of a sanguine dis-
position, and I had, moreover, money sufficient in
my purse to bear all reasonable expenses, with some
besides for my less affluent brother officers. I soon
found out that some of the juniors found it a hard
matter to pay their mess bills, for which I was
extremely sorry. I believe it was generally thought
that I was a man of fortune, from my apparent
indifference to expense and my anxiety of having
the opportunity of purchasing a company. The
first surmise was quite a mistake, for I kept in my
pocket-book a regular account of my expenditure
and receipts, only I took care that no one should
know it.

EMBARKATION

The day at length arrived for our embarkation.
The two flank companies, the colours of the regi*
meni» the band and Colonel Aston, were embarked
on board the Rockingham, East Indiaman, 800 tons,
the Hon. Hugh Lindsay commander. The other
part of the regiment was distributed on board the
Hawkesbury^ Melville Castle, and Air lie Castle, all
Indiamen of about the same size. 1 think the Fox
frigate, Captain Malcolm, was to proceed with us to
the Cape, and the Tretnendous (74) into a certain
tatitude. For it was the very height of the war,
and the Dutch fleet was at sea looking out for us.
They must have been near us, as they arrived at
the Cape only about ten days before us, and the
first news we heard on our arriving there was that
they had been all captured by Lord Keith.

The bustle and confusion getting on board, which
was in the first week in June, the decks covered
with knapsacks, officers' baggage, etc., ducks, pigs,
poultry, sheep, etc., all quacking, squeaking, crowing
and baaing at the same time, was quite ludicrous.
The chief officer showed us our cabin. Colonel
Aston's cabin was divided from ours, and had a
quarter gallery. We had the remaining part of the
cabin, with a partition for the other part of the
quarter gallery, for our own use and that of the
officers of the ship. We were eleven officers stowed
away in standing berths and cots in a cabin not
more than, I should think, ten feet square, besides
the rudder- head, which took up very considerable

46 ELERS MEMOIRS

room. I swung in a cot, as well as Captain Craigie
and the surgeon, Dr. Campbell ; Meade, Crawford,
Robert Nixon, his Lieutenants, lay in the standing
berths. Woodall, George Nixon, and Perceval were
stowed away in the same manner, and Ensign King
in a cot. This was our party. In the morning we
were attended by our servants, which just doubled
the number of our party in the small cabin of ten
feet square, or at most twelve. Eight o'clock was
the hour of breakfast, three o'clock dinner, six
o'clock tea and coffee, nine o'clock supper ; and
meals were punctual to a minute. Both subalterns
and men kept watch on deck, from eight to twelve,
from twelve to four, with two what they call dog-
watches — that is, two hours from four to six, and
six to eight. After breakfast the men were put
through the manual and platoon exercise, and we
had parades twice a day, when every man was
expected to be perfectly clean. A subaltern of the
day was appointed whose duty it was to see the
hammocks all stowed away on deck, the decks
swept and perfectly clean, and the lights extin-
guished at nine o'clock.

We had among our passengers four ladies : two
very fine girls, the two Miss Smiths, about seven-
teen and nineteen, just come from the fashionable
schools of London, Queen Square and Bloomsbury
(they were the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Petrie,
the second in Council at Madras) ; a Miss Payton
and a Miss Chinnery, her friend — the first a very

LADY PASSENGERS

landsome old maid about thirty* six, the other a
good-tempered but very plain girl of about my own
age. The superiority of the two Miss Smiths was
very obvious, Jemima, the eldest, was a most
incorrigible flirt, very clever, very satirical^ and
aiming at universal conquest. Her sister, Hen-
rietta, was more retiring, and I think more admired ;
at leasts I know Colonel Aston was much struck
with her pretty little figure and lovely neck, and she
afterwards made a conquest of the future hero,
Colonel Arthur Wellesley, who arrived at the Cape
with the 33rd Regiment a few months before us.
Mamma Payton, too, had her admirers. She was
very quiet and matronly, and rolled about her fine
black eyes at dinner in every direction. Without
being absolutely vulgar, she had no polish or refine-
ment, and had evidently not been used to fashion-
able company, while the two Miss Smiths clearly
had. As to poor Miss Chinnery, no one ever
thought of her. Poor soul ! she had neither beauty
oor talent ; but she was good-natured and inoflfen-
sive, and thankful when she received attention.
There were some fine young men going out as
writers, particularly John Byng. His father was
afterwards Lord Torrington.^ He was about my
age, and had seen the best and highest society.
He was remarkably handsome and a favourite of
the Prince of Wales. Writing of that illustrious

^ ' John Byng,' third son of the fifth Viscount TornngtOQ ; died
in iSii.

48 ELERS MEMOIRS

personage, I cannot resist repeating — pardon my
vanity — what I overheard him say to Lady William
Russell in the crush-room at the Opera — * Look,
Lady William, at that handsome boy !' I was then
about seventeen. I am conscious it is a great piece
of ridiculous vanity recording this trifling circum-
stance, which I hope will be the last, as it is the first,
instance of such folly on my part.

We had all our respective places at dinner —
Captain Lindsay in the centre ; at his right hand
were placed the two Miss Smiths, and on his left
the other two ladies. Opposite the Captain sat
Colonel Aston, and I on his left. Crawford and
Captain Swinton (74th Regiment) sat together on
my left. Poor Captain Lindsay a day or two after
we were on board said : * Gentlemen, I propose we
should limit the consumption of wine to a pint per
man, as I shall not have sufficient otherwise to last
out the voyage.' Now, that ought to have been
quite sufficient, but in those days it was the fashion
to drink, and as our young gentlemen did not like
to be limited to any particular allowance there was
a dead silence. Captain Lindsay then said : ' It is
not the wine I care for, but, as we are now fairly off,
I have not the means of getting a fresh supply.'
* Pray don't make yourself uneasy on that head,'
said Colonel Aston, * as I happen to have about a
couple of thousand pounds' worth in the fleet, and
should you run short I shall be happy to supply you.'
We heard nothing further about the wine after that.

SAMPSON WOOD

Our band played generally every day during
dinner and in the course of the evening, when the
other ships would sail close alongside of us and
exchange a few words, they being attracted by the
band and our young ladies. Twice a week we had
dancings and every Saturday night we drank a
health to our sweethearts and wives, according to
custom. I was always fond of singing, and had a
friend who had the most beautiful tenor 1 ever
heard. We used to meet at a friend's chambers
in the Temple, and many is the merry night we
passed there until morning warned us to depart.
Our principal beverage was punch. My friend was
only a clerk in the Stamp Office, but well connected,
the protege of Mr. Tickell, patronized by Sheridan,
Richardson, etc., and nephew to Mr. Sober, of Baker
Street, Portman Square, with whom he lived. His
name was Sampson Tickell Wood. He soon sang
away the heart of Sarah Sober, his pretty cousin,
and ran off with her and married hen Just at this
lime I mentioned to my kind friend Mrs, Streat-
field the indiscretion of the youthful couple, and
introduced the lovely Sarah and her spouse to her
and Miss S. The Bishop of London was enchanted
with his singing, and through my introduction he at
length found his way into Carlton House, and from
his connection with Sheridan, together with his
accomplishments, the junior clerk in the Stamp
Office at Somerset House got into many of the
gay parties that were given by His Royal High-

50 ELERS MEMOIRS

ness. The consequence of all this was that my

friend Sam got into the King's Bench, and his

pretty little wife Sarah took the opportunity of

again running away ; the partner of her flight this

second time was Tom Thornhill,^ a young man of

large fortune in Norfolk, who, after Sam's death,

married her. I understand Thornhill paid Sam's

debts and gave him ;^2,ooo on the condition that

he did not prosecute him. All this I learned on

my return from India. I saw poor Sam after,

but never spoke to him, as I did not approve of

that sort of compromise.

When we — that is, the fleet — were lying at the

Mother Bank, Colonel Aston kept a sailing vessel,

about thirty tons, in case the fleet should get under

way, in readiness to convey him on board from

Portsmouth, where Mrs. Aston was living. The

night before we sailed I was walking the deck in

the afternoon, when he said : * Come, young one,

will you come with me and take your last look at

Portsmouth ?' (Poor fellow ! it was his last look.) I

said I should like it much. When we arrived at

Portsmouth, he said : * Call upon me at nine o'clock

at Hammond's, in the High Street, as I am now

going to take leave of Mrs. Aston. Take care you

are not later, and go and amuse yourself till then.'

I was punctual, and we went on board the yacht.

He was silent all the time we were on board, and, I

thought, melancholy.

1 *Tom Thomhill,' Thomas Thomhill, of Fixby, County Yorks,
and Riddlesworth^ County Norfolk.

CHAPTER V

Crossing the Line— Arrival at the Cape — Captured Dutch men-of-
war — Dutch fare — Constantia — Colonel Arthur Wellesley —
His gratitude — A timely loan— Arrival at Madras — Fon
St George — The Nabob of Arcot — A Minden veteran — Lord
Hobart, Governor of Madras — A lovely termagant

The

made sail. In the

next morning, June lo, we maae sail, in
course of a few days we got into very warm weather
— warmer than I ever felt it before. But we amused
ourselves, some with walking the deck, others read-
ing, some playing backgammon, others chess, the
ladies playing on the piano or drawing. In short.
it appeared quite a party of pleasure. We passed
Madeira about twenty miles off, and saw the Peak
of Teneriflfe and the Cape Verd Islands. We
only saw one small Portuguese vessel, which we
boarded, and got some delicious oranges. We
passed the equinoctial line, and went through the
wonted ceremony of receiving old Neptune, and pay-
ing the usual forfeit by those who passed it for the
first time. Here we were becalmed for ten days or
a fortnight. It was intensely hot, and we suffered
from a most tormenting skin eruption called the
Lt. At length the long-wished-for breeze

prickly

[SI 1

ELERS MEMOIRS

came, and we were once more in motion. Nothing
can possibly be more grand and sublime than the
rising and setting of the sun in these latitudes, and
the moonlight nights are quite delicious. The phos-
phoric particles in the sea are wonderful, and truly
beautiful. Off the Cape we experienced a gale, and
the sea ran very high. It assumed a form I never
before saw ; what they call the trough of the sea
appeared at least a mile long between one wave and
the next, which obliged us to fasten down our dead-
lights. At length one fine morning the man at the
masthead sang out ' Land ahead !* This was very
early in the morning, and by sunset we had cast
anchor in Table Bay, after a voyage of two months.
It soon got dark, but the next morning I was up
betimes, and the town and huge mountain looked as
if hanging over the ship, although we were at least
two miles distant. The houses looked very neat
and white, though we were too far off to see any-
thing very distinctly.

The regiment did not disembark, but the officers
were allowed to go on shore, and a few of the men
by turns. We found the Bay full of ships of war :
Lord Keith's squadron and the Dutch ships he had
captured, together with our little fleet. I only
recollect one of the Dutch ships, the Van Tromp,
where were some officers of the Scotch Brigade. I
went to dine with a Major Ewen of that corps,
when it suddenly came on a gale of wind, and I
was detained there all night. These gales often

CAPE TOWN

come on very suddenly, and will in an instant lay a
* 74 * on her beam ends. I met two old school-
fellows at the Cape; one an Acting- Lieutenant on

Aboard the K<«« Tromp frigate, who had lost a leg in
the service. His name was Fisher, and he was son
to Dr Fisher, who lived with Storace, the singer.
The other, a young man, was a surgeon of the
garrison who invited me to spend a few days at
his quarters, and mounted me upon one of his
unshod Cape horses. The horses are never shod.
I found it pleasant riding out in the cool of the

I evening. We used to dine at the house of a Dutch
officer by name of Scholts. It was very unpleasant
sitting down to such immense quantities of meat
swimming in oil, and such a variety of dishes^ not
one fit to eat, and the Cape wine was execrable.
He kept a board and lodging house* where I
occasionally met officers of our different regiments
quartered at the Cape* There were the 33rd, newly
arrived ; the Scotch Brigade ; the 78th ; 86th — all,
like ourselves, destined for India, as also the 80th, a
regiment very much resembling ours, I think it
was raised by Lord Paget, the present Marquis of
Anglesey. The only difference in dress was this :
the 80th wore a white ostrich feather, and we black
and red. These two regiments were, in point of
uniform* exactly alike, and it is not to be wondered
at, as Lord Paget and Colonel Aston were great
friends, and both had the best possible taste in
dress ; and I dare say they laid their heads

54 ELERS MEMOIRS

together to dress their regiments as alike as
possible.
\ The regiments of the line in those days were very
\ badly dressed, and on our arrival at Madras we
were the pattern for all the East India regiments
on the coast. Nothing could be more ludicrous
than the dress of the Company's officers at that
period, some wearing shoes and buckles on guard ;
others shoe-strings, their facings not more than
two inches broad ; epaulettes not fastened to the
shoulder, but hanging down upon their breast.
One of their Generals I have seen with a pair of
black silk smalls and stockings to match, white
waistcoat, and a General's red coat. The name of
this officer was Sir Eccles Nixon. There were
also at the Cape several regiments above the
number of ninety-two that I cannot recollect, also
the 28th Light Dragoons. We used to make up
parties in large waggons to go into the interior.
Some of ours went as far as eighty miles. The
farthest I went was on horseback, broiling in the
sun, as far as Constantia, the vineyard where they
make the celebrated wine. The oranges here were
delicious. In the evening we used to dance. Some
of the Dutch girls were very pretty, and some
wealthy. One of them fell in love with one of our
subalterns, and offered herself and I know not how
many thousand dollars to the young gentleman.
But they were not accepted.
The slave girls are, in general, fine girls, and

COLONEL WELLESLEY

some very fair, being the offspring of Dutchmen
by native women. They (the proprietors) rather
encourage than otherwise the intercourse between
the officers and their slaves, as a matter of traffic.
When Dutch women get married they are pretty,
rosy girls of some shape ; but no sooner do they
get married and have a family than they grow
enormously fat and out of all grace and proportion.
They are very fond, when young, of dancing.

Captain Ruding, one of ours, a young man of
ancient family, and heir to a Leicestershire estate of
five thousand a year, just of age, fell in love with
Jemima Smith, and after a ten days' courtship was
led. nothing loth, to the altar.

Captain Lindsay, on our arrival at the Cape, took
a very commodious house in the town for himself
and the four ladies. With their attraction the house
was filled with all the principal officers, visiting and
paying their respects from morning till night,
among others the afterwards celebrated hero,
Colonel the Hon, Arthur Wellesley, at that time
(September, 1796) just turned twenty-seven years
of age. At this time he was all life and spirits.
In height he was about 5 feet 7 inches, with along,
pale face, a remarkably large aquiline nose, a clear
blue eye, and the blackest beard I ever saw. He
was remarkably clean in his person, and I have
known him shave twice in one day, which I believe
was his constant practice. His features always
reminded me of John Philip Kemble, and, what is

56 ELERS MEMOIRS

more remarkable, I observed, many years after, the
great likeness between him and the performer,
Mr. Charles Young, which he told me he had often
heard remarked. He spoke at this time remarkably
quickly, with, I think, a very, very slight lisp. He
had very narrow jaw-bones, and there was a great
peculiarity in his ear, which I never observed but in
one other person, the late Lord Byron — the lobe
of the ear uniting to the cheek. He had a par-
ticular way, when pleased, of pursing up his mouth.
I have often observed it when he has been thinking
abstractedly. He got his brevet rank of Colonel on
May I, 1796, as did also his friend Colonel Aston ;
but Aston was just senior to him. I believe they
were both Lieutenant-Colonels of 1793, and were
only three years in that rank.

I believe Colonel Wellesley was very much in
debt and embarrassed when he left England, and a
small tradesman in Dublin was of great assistance
to him by the loan of four or five hundred pounds,
which on his arrival in India in due course of time
was repaid; and I have heard that on his return
from India he walked into the shop of the trades-
man, a boot and shoe maker, and asked him if he
recollected him. The man said * No.* * Well,* said
Sir Arthur, who was Secretary to the Duke' of
Richmond, * can I be of any service to you ?* The
man said : * I want nothing for myself, but I have a
son.' * Give me his name,* said Sir Arthur ; * you did
me a kindness once, and I do not forget it.' He got

A GENEROUS ACT

the man's son a place of /'400 per annum. It gives
me pleasure to record this anecdote of the Duke of
Wellington, who has not a very tender or feeling
heart. And in this instance I think he felt himself
under an obligation to the man he did not forget,
and it was his pride as well as principle, together
with the man's answer, * I want nothing for myself/
that determined Sir Arthur to provide so hand-
somely for his son. I know of another instance of
his liberality of which he told me himself, but with-
out any ostentation, only from my being a friend
of the husband of the fair lady to whom his kind-
ness and liberality were directed. Major William
Ashley Sturt, of the 80th Regiment, a young man
from the Guards, just before he left England, after
committing all sorts of follies, concluded by marry-
ing a beautiful woman of the establishment of a
notorious woman living in Berkeley Street, a house
much resorted to by men of fashion. Mrs* Sturt
arrived in the year 1801 at Madras without a
sixpence. I at this time was living, on a visit with
Colonel Wellesley, at a palace of Tippoo Sahib's,
just outside the fort of Seringapatam, Major Sturt
was with his regiment a great distance from Madras,
and was far from rich, so in her distress, and being
a st»nger in a foreign country, she wrote to her old
friend Colonel Wellesley, who by return of post
sent her an order upon his banker for ^^400. My
dear friend Colonel Aston was on terms of great
friendship with Colonel Wellesley, and introduced

58 ELERS MEMOIRS

me to him, which is the only way I can account for
his distinguishing me five years after in the way he
did in preference to other officers of my regiment.

After spending two months very pleasantly at the
Cape, we proceeded to Madras under convoy of the
old Trident, a 64-gun ship. We left behind us sick
poor Lieutenant- Colonel Grey, who shortly after
died there of an abscess. At Eton he received a
blow from a cricket-ball, and that eventually caused
his death. We carried on with us the 33rd Regi-
ment, commanded by the Honourable Colonel
Wellesley, destined for Calcutta. Colonel W.
proceeded in the Princess Charlotte Indiaman. I
had a very narrow escape, some years after, of being
captured by the French in this vessel at Vizagapatam.
We lost one of our ladies, Jemima Smith, now
Mrs. Ruding, having embarked on board her
husband's ship, the Melville Castle. We continued
our voyage, and in about two months anchored in
Madras Roads on January 9, 1797. The day was
too far advanced to disembark that evening, so it
was arranged that the regiment should land the
next day after an early dinner. The appearance of
Madras from the roads is not very interesting.
The coast is flat both to the north and south as far
as the eye can reach, relieved by no object save the
cocoa-nut trees and palmyras, and the white foam
from the tremendous surf constantly rolling in shore,
the outer surf commencing at least 200 yards from
shore. No ship's boat, I think, could possibly avoid

MADRAS

being swamped at Madras, But they have very
safe and commodious masulah boats» entirely made
of the cocoa-nut tree, and manned by four or five
Lascars, who sing in chorus a song that enables
them to pull all together ; these boats they manage
with a dexterity which no English sailor could equal.
By way of additional security in case of a capsize,
they are attended by two or three catamarans — long
pieces of wood lashed together, on the top of which
are perched two natives. They are in no danger of
being drowned even if they fall off ; they float
like cork. But the greatest danger is from the
sharks that abound near the shore.

We ate our last dinner on board the Rockingham^
and the regiment landed on the beach of Madras
between five and six o'clock in the evening. The
men were marched into the barracks in Fort St.
George, vacated by the 74th Regiment, while the
officers received us on the beach and escorted us to
their mess-room in the fort, where a very handsome
dinner was provided for us. We had all of us
previously dined on board of our respective ships ;
this second dinner, followed up by large quantities
of madeira and claret, had the natural effect of
making many of us much the worse for it. Then
came at a late hour the providing us with beds for
the night. Each officer of the 74th seemed to vie
with the other as to who should show us most
hospitality. I was taken care of by a Lieutenant
Macleod, the Adjutant of the regiment. And now

6o ELERS MEMOIRS

my misery commenced from the mosquitoes. Not
having been provided with mosquito-curtains, I was
really devoured, hands, feet, and legs, and as for my
face, when I looked in the glass I was swelled and
disfigured to such a degree that I did not know
myself Colonel Aston was quite sorry to see me
such a martyr, and sent me down some curtains
which he had by him when he expected to go out to
the West Indies. But the mischief was all done in
one night. The torment I experienced from these
insects drove me almost mad. I tore my flesh to
pieces, particularly my legs and feet. These bites,
from contact with the stocking, became small ulcers,
the marks of which I now bear about me, and pre-
vented me from wearing boots for many weeks, and
of course I could not mount guard and take my turn
of the garrison duty.

We formed an excellent mess. We had, of course,
our own regimental plate. We found two black
men, brothers, who agreed to find us an excellent
dinner, a dessert, and a pint of madeira each man
for ten pagodas a head monthly ; also twice a week,
Thursday and Sunday, a better dinner, consisting of
European articles, such as hams, tongues, cheese,
etc. But if we exceeded the allowance of wine,
beer, etc., we had to pay extra. Thursday and
Sunday were the days we received guests. Our
members consisted of nearly the whole regiment,
amounting to between forty and fifty officers. 1
have often seen on the days we had company our

GARRISON LIFE

guests nearly three times out numbering ourselves.
It once occurred to me that I sat up all night and
went from the mess-table to the morning drill at
five o'clock- But that happened to me but once.

The drills, the guards, and the regimental duties
of the subalterns were rather severe. For instance,
the first five months, during the hottest part of the
season, the regiment was formed in the fort, ready
on the first dawn of day, when the gun was fired and
the gates opened, to march out of the garrison and
form on the glacis of the fort. After the reports
were collected, we marched round several times both
in slow and quick time, saluting, etc Afterwards
many of the eighteen manoeuvres were gone through.
Then the senior officers were drilled by Major
Picton and the junior by Major Bellairs. After
that a few more manoeuvres, and then, the sun
getting very powerful, we were marched back to our
quarters. I used on getting to my quarters, when
I breakfasted at home, to throw off all my clothes
and lie down on my cot fairly done up and go to
sleep. I was obliged to get up and dress at twelve
to attend the Major to practise the sword exercise
for an hour ; then home, undress, and lie down for a
couple of hours ; then dress again for a three o'clock
dinner, and at five the regiment again formed for
exercise, when we continued till it was too dark.
And this system continued with little intermission
until the month of July, when we were delighted at
the prospect of the regiment going on an expedition

62 ELERS MEMOIRS

to capture the island of Manila in conjunction with
other troops.

As I have before mentioned, I had a few letters
of introduction to the people of Madras. I got
some dinners, and that was all. I presented my
letter to the old Admiral from Lady Burnaby. He
said to me : * Young gentleman, you are in the Army,
and I can be of no use to you. Had you been in
the Navy, from the regard I have to Lady Burnaby,
I would have taken care of your promotion.' Now,
if my poor brother Edward had had the good
fortune to have delivered this letter to the Admiral
instead of me, he would have been pushed on to the
rank of a Post-Captain instead of dying, after hard
and gallant services, a Lieutenant. Such are the
lucky or unlucky events of our lives.

The garden-houses about Madras are for the most
part inhabited by the Civil Servants, who live in as
much luxury as the climate will allow. Their
houses vary in splendour according to the means of
their occupiers. For instance, a Member of Council
will have a house like a man of large fortune in this
country, while the Writer will have a much smaller
one, consisting of an entrance-hall, wherein he dines
and breakfasts, and two bedrooms, one on each side.
The largest and best houses are all built on the
ground-floor. None of the houses have ceilings, but
cloth of pure white is the substitute. But these
substitutes for a ceiling are only used in the best
houses by the Civil Servants, who live in every

LIFE AT MADRAS

respect better than the subaltern ranks of the Army.
Glass windows are seldom used in India, but
Venetian blinds and doors are substituted for them
to get the benefit of the current of ain I have seen
glass doors and windows at Negapatam and Pondi-
cherri. the former a Dutch settlement and the latter
a French one ; but even there they are not common.
The sea-breeze sets in about 2 p.m. and continues
until about 4 a.m. Nothing can be more refresh*
ing than that delightful breeze. Every house has a
veranda attached to it» where the custom is to take
exercise by walking in the extreme heat of the day.
The thermometer in the coolest part of the morning
is generally in the shade as high as 72'', and
increases to 82^ In an officers tent it generally is
from 90** to 100°. and in the tents used by the private
soldiers at least 10'' higher. When the sea-breeze
dies away at night the heat is insupportable, and the
tings of the mosquitoes enough to drive one mad.

I was truly miserable the first three years I
was in India; my last thought as 1 lay down to
sleep, and the first when I awoke, was England »
After that period I got more reconciled to the
country. I used to ride in the evening, when we
relaxed in our drill, upon the Mount Road and in
its environs. The perfume from the hedges was
delightful, and the trees are always green and
flourishing, notwithstanding the constant heat and
never-failing sun. The birds and little gray
squirrels are quite tame. I had one of the latter,

64 ELERS MEMOIRS

who used very often to sleep for hours in my coat-
sleeve, even when on parade. I had also a small
monkey, which was very amusing with its tricks. My
dear friend Colonel Aston had only four horses —
a pair of large bay horses which he used to drive in
the curricle he used in England, wherein I used
sometimes to ride, and two saddle horses ; one, a
dark iron gray, was a heavy, quiet horse, remark-
ably steady with troops — he was called Blueskin —
and the other was a very fine gray Arab, bought of
Colonel Winch of the 36th for 500 pagodas, and
named Diomed. This horse afterwards became the
property of Colonel Wellesley, and was left to him
by Colonel Aston just before he fought his last and
fatal duel.

India in these days is as well known as the
Continent of Europe. I shall not, therefore, enter
into any particular detail of it, particularly to you,
who have passed four or five years there in a
similar situation as myself. I have only mentioned
my first impressions. How well I recollect the old
Nabob of Arcot taking his evening drive on the
Mount Road in an old-fashioned English post-chaise
with black postillions, his long and venerable white
beard, his yellow complexion, turban, and silk dress !
He always made every officer he met a profound
salaam. He lived in some state about two short
miles from the fort, at or near a place called St.
Thom6. The Mount was distant from Madras
about ten miles. Here was the station of the

GENERAL FLOYD

Artillery, and also of the 22nd Light Dragoons,
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Staple ton Cotton,
since for his long and gallant services to his country
ennobled as Viscount Combermere. The Major
was the Honourable George de Grey, afterwards
Lord Walsinghain. This unfortunate nobleman
was. together with his lady, burnt to death about
six or seven years since at their house in Harley
Street. He fell asleep, and the candle ignited the
curtains of the bed. De Grey, when I first knew
him, was not above twenty years of age. Colonel
Cotton was about five or six years older. The
Colonel was regarded as a good regimental cavalry
officer, and was considered so by the old veteran,
General Floyd, commanding the cavalry, who had
served as a cornet at the famous Battle of Minden,
where my regiment was one of the six who gained a

[lorious victory over the French, August i , 1 759, We
used to have the words * Minden* and * Gibraltar'
on our regimental colour, and the latter on our
breastplates, a great and proud distinction in those
days. In these times, under the great modern hero,
there is scarce a regiment in the service that has not
at least half a dozen such honourable memorials.
When my Colonel, General William Picton.
received the command of the r2th Regiment, he
went to Court to return his thanks for the honour
conferred upon him by George HL His Majesty

lid : * You must thank Captain Picion, who com-
manded the Grenadiers of the 1 2th Regiment at the

66 ELERS MEMOIRS

Battle of Minden.' I have seen the original return
of the killed and wounded on that glorious day.
They were very severely handled, very few escaping
being either killed or wounded.

When we arrived at Madras we found Lord
Hobart the Governor of the settlement. He had
lately lost his wife, formerly a Mrs. Adderley.
With her arrived Miss A. and her brother. Miss A.
was one of the most beautiful young creatures I ever
saw, and married only a few months later Captain
Gardner^ of the Navy. He was son to Lord
Gardner, the Admiral. I never in my life saw any
woman with so beautiful a complexion. When in
England I thought Lady Charlotte Campbell very
lovely, but she was far surpassed by Mrs. Gardner.
They lived very unhappily together ; they soon
after left India, and on their passage home they
had so violent a quarrel that she flung his picture
on the deck, stamped her foot upon it, and threw
her wedding-ring into the sea. There was also
a Mrs. Campbell, the wife of Captain C. of the
Company's Artillery — a very fine woman. Both
these ladies were much admired by Colonel Aston.
There was a good deal of what the ladies call
flirtation going on among these ladies with their
admirers, but nothing more — at least, not at that

^ * Captain Gardner,' Hon. Alan Hyde Gardner, afterwards
second Lord Gardner. Married, March 9, 1796, Maria Elizabeth,
only daughter of Thomas Adderley, of Innishannon, County
Cork. Divorced 1805. She married, secondly, Henry Jadis.

AN ELOPEMENT 67

time. They both went home at the same time, if
not in the same ship. The lovely Mrs. Gardner
afterwards eloped with Mr. Jadis. It is only a few
years since a child, bom before a formal separation
took place, tried to establish his claim to the
Gardner peerage. But he lost his claim after a
long and severe investigation. It all turned on the
possibility of the period of gestation extending to
ten months. We used to have very pleasant balls
at the Mount. Colonel Aston often drove me over
to them, and we used to sleep at Colonel Cotton's
house.

5—2

CHAPTER VI

Expedition against Manila— A naval hero — Penang — Expedition
abandoned — Captain Winstone's death — Return to India —
Camp life — Conjeveram pagodas — Tanjore — ^Vellum— Suttee
— Revolution at Tanjore — Amee — A regimental quarrel —
A duel in Ceylon — Colonel Aston killed in a duel.

It was the beginning of the month of August, 1797,
when an expedition was prepared to proceed against
Manila. I never shall forget the considerate kind-
ness of Colonel Aston respecting my comfort on
that occasion. I could not get any native servant
willing to embark with me. They have a prejudice
against going on board ship. I was embarked on
board H.M.S. Trident, 64 guns, Captain Milner.
Only half the regiment was to proceed at first
with the first division. I remember our Captain-
Lieutenant was Captain William O'Brien, the present
Marquess of Thomond. He was on board the same
ship with me, a truly noble and high-spirited young
man, a great favourite of mine, universally beloved
and respected by the regiment. Colonel Aston sent
me a Portuguese servant, but he was so stupid he
was not of the smallest use to me. I was obliged
to get one of our men to attend upon me. I did

[68]

PENANG

not require much — merely cleaning my boots and
slinging my cot, fetching water, etc I messed with
the Lieutenants in the gun-room ; Captain O'Brien
messed with Captain Milner. There were sfeveral
large Indiamen taken up for the troops, some of
1,500 tons burthen. I had a very comfortable berth
in the gun-room — so cool, and no mosquitoes, it
appeared quite a paradise. I found the officers
excellent good fellows, the senior Lieutenant a short,
sturdy young man, whom I have often heard say
that if ever he got into action he never would strike
his colours, whatever disparity of force should exist.
He blew his ship up after in action, when he could
no longer defend her against a superior force.
This young hero's name was Rowe, The second
Lieutenant's name was Gordon, a gentleman, quite
young. And the third, Houston, a remarkably
handsome young Scotchman, and a great favourite
of the Duke of Hamilton s. The Lieutenant of
Marines name was Wilson. The master was an old
man, as was the surgeon. All the rest were little
more than boys, but good officers.

We had a pleasant voy^^e of about three weeks
to Prince of Wales Island, or Penang, as it is
sometimes called ; we found here the 33rd Regiment
and other troops from Bengal The settlement of
Penang lies at the foot of high land, covered with
jungle that looks very beautiful from the sea. It
is inhabited by Malays and Chinese, At this time
it had not been an English set dement above ten

ELERS MEMOIRS

years, and was then in its infancy. I renewed my
acquaintance with Colonel Wellesley. The troops
were not disembarked, but the officers and a few
men were allowed to go on shore. I slept on shore
two or three times. Some of the Madras native
regiments were encamped there. In consequence
of the hostile demonstrations on the part of Tippoo
Sultan, the Governor-General was obliged to give
up his intention of proceeding gainst the Manilas,
and we had to lie quietly in the roads of Penang
until the monsoon was over on the coast of Coro-
mandel. The monsoon commences about the middle
of October, and it is not safe for ships to enter the
Madras roads ere the first week in January. So we
all led a very quiet, stupid life on board our respective
ships until the middle of December, when we of the
coast troops returned to Madras, My chief recreation
was visiting the opposite shore of Kedah, shooting
pigeons and sea-gulls, visiting the troopships, fishing
out of the stern gallery » sometimes bathing at the
foot of a delicious waterfall under the shade of the
palmyra, the plantain, and other Asiatic trees. This
lovely bath was situated about two or three miles
from the town. The approach to it was up the
mountains, and all under the shade of large forest
trees. It is, indeed, a truly delicious retreat No
one ever visited Prince of Wales Island without
going there,

A change took place before we left Penang with
respect to the quartering of the troops on board the

WINSTONE'S DEATH

ships. I was sent on board the Prifuess Mary, an
extra Indiaman of 500 tons, commanded by Captain
Nash, and manned solely by Lascars, with the
exception of the officers. The ship appeared so
small, so dirty» the duty done so slovenly both by
men and officers, so very different from the smartness
and discipline of a man-of-war, that it formed a
miserable contrast. It was only for about three
weeks» but they passed long and wretchedly. On
arriving on shore my kind friend Captain Ruding
gave me a room in his house. I forgot to mention
during our short stay at Penang that we lost one of
our Captains, Thomas Hay ward Winstone, of an
old family in Gloucestershire, and related to my
friend Sir Thomas Hayward of Berkshire. He
drank very hard. I had spent the evening with
him only a few nights before. He allowed the land
wind to blow upon him during his sleep. He awoke
ill, and never recovered, I saw him as he lay dead ;
he had a most stern and severe expression in his
countenance. He was opened, and his liver was
entirely decayed. His complexion was very similar
to Colonel Aston s. His funeral was a military
one, the first I ever attended. It made a great
impression upon me at the time, he being the
first officer we had lost since leaving England.
Alas ! the loss of how many more shall I have to
recount !

1 had not been on shore many days when I was
taken ill with a decided attack of liver. 1 was ill

72 ELERS MEMOIRS

about three weeks, and after having taken repeated
doses of calomel I recovered. At this time, about
February, 1798, some of the old regiments, such as
the 36th, 52nd, and 75th Regiments, were ordered
home. And some of our officers, being heartily
sick of India, effected an exchange. Among those
who left were Captains Ruding and O'Brien. In
them I lost two kind friends. Alas! in after-life
what different fates awaited them — one the heir-
apparent to ;^5,ooo per annum, the other pre-
sumptive heir to an Irish earldom! They each of
them succeeded to the fortune and honours they
were heirs to, but with far different results. My
dear and kind friend Colonel Aston, ever mindful of
my comfort, bought a horse of Lieutenant Meade
for me, together with a new saddle and bridle, as
we received orders to proceed to garrison Tanjore,
a distance of about two hundred miles from Madras.
O'Brien was much beloved by the regiment, and he
was very much attached to it. But he had too much
at stake to stay longer in so precarious a situation as
the East Indies. He had a very narrow escape in
the West Indies a short time before. The flank
companies of the army in 1 794 were embarked at
Cork for the West Indies. Both of ours went, and
Lieutenant O'Brien went also. Our flank companies
stormed St. Lucia, and those who were not killed
all died of the yellow fever in nine months, with the
exception of O'Brien and two of the private soldiers.
O'Brien, when he left the regiment, presented some

CAMP LIFE

liltle memorials of his regard to those officers with
whom he was most intimate. To me he gave an
emerald pin, which I preserved for ten years, and
happened to prove to him the care I had taken of
it by wearing it at Ascot races, where by chance I
met him. It was stolen a few days after this out of
my shirt.

We marched out of Fort St. George at gun-fire
one morning the latter end of the month of FebnJar)^
and encamped on Choultry Plain, in the vicinity of
the fort. Thus I made my debut under canvas in
the East I started with a very modest establish-
ment : a head servant, a second ditto, a boy to
carry my chair, and coolies for my cot, table, etc., a
Cooderry currah and grass-cutten These two
native servants were for the purpose of attending
upon one horse, the only one I had. The novelty
of a camp life amused me much at first We were
obliged to be up before daylight ; the bugle sounded
an hour before dawn. The Lascars were then
busily at work knocking loose the tent-pegs, the
servants packing up the trunks, attending their
masters and helping them to dress, loading the
bullocks with trunks, etc. In the course of another
hour the second bugle sounds. The regiment is
formed in marching order, the drums and fifes
begin to play, and the officers are shortly after
allowed to mount their horses and ride by the side
of their companies. The Quartermaster and his
staff precede the regiment, and fix the encampment

74 ELERS MEMOIRS

about nine, ten, or twelve miles from the last
ground, according as he finds favourable ground.
One thing is indispensable : the vicinity of water,
and it should be near a village. We had a fine
large mess tent, and our mess man gave us a good
dinner every day, as he used to do in quarters. In
the evening the villagers used to come out to our
lines to indulge their curiosity, oftentimes accom-
panied by the dancing-girls, particularly if in the
neighbourhood of any celebrated ps^odas. I think
it is about thirty miles from Madras we came to the
celebrated pagodas of Conjeveram. They are, from
their size, architecture and magnificent tanks, really
wonderful objects of curiosity. Immense quantities
of monkeys inhabit these pagodas, where they are
considered quite sacred, and jump about these
temples in perfect security.

We arrived at Pondicherri, and encamped in the
neighbourhood. And here was stationed a native
regiment I had met at Penang ; with some of the
officers I renewed my acquaintance. At this place
I acquired the accomplishment of swimming, taught
me by one of my company. I was very fond of this
refreshing exercise, but never felt comfortable, from
my constant dread of water-snakes and alligators.
I was bathing once in the vicinity of Tanjore, and
heard my servant in earnest conversation with an
old Brahmin. I asked him the subject of their
conversation. He said : * Brahmin say, master, that
he knows an old alligator that has lived in this tank

TANJORE

upwards of one hundred years/ I never bathed
there afterwards.

We at length arrived at Tanjore. An immense
fort it was, and with a still larger pettah. There
was a regiment of Native Infantry doing duty in
that part, commanded by a Colonel Innis. Colonel
Aston had a very good quarter in the fort, which
had an excellent garden attached to it, with a fine
vineyard. The grapes abounded there, and it was
a source of great profit, I have heard, to officers
whose object it was to make and save money. Not
so with the liberal, noble-minded Aston.

The weather on our first arrival was dreadfully
hot» and the nights were most oppressive ; we were
worn out by the heat of day, and unable to get any
refreshing sleep from the closeness of the nights, as
no cool sea-breeze was to be had here* It was here
that Colonel Aston got an attack of liver complaint.
I used often to dine with him in his room and take
his horse out for exercise in the evening. I think
he began to get tired of the climate and the
monotony of the life, and I believe, had peace been
permanently established in India, he calculated being
at home in the summer of 1799, and had made
rrangements to that effect. But man proposes and
God disposes. His sun was nearly set*

About seven miles from Tanjore was a military
station called Vellum. There our flank companies
were removed under Major Picton. It was a wild
and cheerless place, situated on a large> sandy plain.

76 ELERS MEMOIRS

the few rocks in the neighbourhood infested with
large snakes of the most dangerous description,
among others the cobra de capello, the most veno-
mous. After being bit, if no application is made,
you die in half an hour. These snakes are of a
dirty brown, and are generally from 5 feet to 7 feet
in length. When irritated they expand a fleshy
substance from each side of the head, which is
marked like a pair of spectacles. They throw
themselves upright, and can then spring some
distance upon you. I had the most miraculous
escape of being bitten by one some years after.

During my short stay at this dull and miserable
station I had the opportunity of seeing a young
widow burn herself by the side of her deceased
husband. The funeral pile was about 10 feet high ;
in the middle of the pile lay her deceased husband,
an old and miserable-looking man. The devoted
victim was a young creature about seventeen,
dressed in white, with all her jewels on and various
ornaments of gold. There was a confused noise of
singing and shouting, intermixed with the sound of
tom-toms — that is, a sort of small drum — and at
intervals the hollow and sonorous sound of gongs
and trumpets. The priests and her friends crowded
round her, all speaking to her at once, apparently to
distract her attention and to prevent her shrinking
at the last moment from sacrificing herself. There
was a small tank of water close to the funeral pile.
They led her to this. I was very near her when

SUTTEE

I saw her quietly take the jewels from her ears, her
nose, unclasp her gold bracelets, as well as the
bangles from her ankles and every ornament she
had on, which were received by her relations. She
then stepped into the water, divested herself of her

I clothes of pure white, and replaced them with clothes
of a yellow colour. She then performed her ablu-
tions, came out of the water, and unassisted walked
three times round the pile, followed by the priests

land her friends, who at this period appeared to be
more urgent and loud in their discourse to her
to distract her attention. She then, unassisted,
mounted the pile, laid herself down by the side of
her husband, and put his head under her arm,
turning herself towards them. They then sprinkled
large quantities of oil and straw on the pile. The
fatal fire was then applied, and amid loud shouts
and while the fire reached her I distinctly heard her
utter the words * Narina, Narina,' Fortunately^
during this horrid ceremony a very high wind was
blowing, and I consoled myself in the hope that she
was suffocated ere she suffered much pain. I was
very near her during the different parts of the
ceremony, and could have saved her life by merely
touching her, as she would then have been defiled^
and would not have been permitted to have the
honour of sacrificing herself. But in saving her life
I stood the chance of being torn to pieces, and 1
certainly should have been brought to a court-
martial for disobedience of orders, for the English

78 ELERS MEMOIRS

in those days were strictly forbidden to meddle with
the customs and prejudices of the natives.

In the neighbourhood of Vellum, on the arid and
sandy plains, small stones abound which, in course
of 2^es, get chipped at the angles by accident.
These, if given to a lapidaiy and cut and polished,
produce a stone frequently of value, and in polish
and lustre far superior to our Bristol stone. I used
to amuse myself collecting these sometimes. Major
Picton had a leash of English greyhounds, and we
used at early dawn to take the dogs out and run
foxes and jackals. They run for a mile or two very
swift, but I have got several severe falls by my
horse getting into false ground and holes and coming
suddenly across watercourses and ravines.

An important revolution occurred during our stay
at Tanjore. The old Rajah was deposed, and the
young one, by the name of Suffrajeh, brought up
and educated by a German missionary of the name
of Schwartz, was placed on the musnud in his room.
At this time he was one of the handsomest natives I
ever saw. This revolution took place without any
confusion, noise, or bloodshed, and, I believe, had
justice on its side, which is not always the case in
political revolutions. The young Rajah — about
twenty-four — gave us a grand dinner according to
the English custom, and as soon as the dessert was
placed on the table he was led into the room by
Colonel Aston and the Civil Resident, Benjamin
Torin, and took his seat at the centre of the table,

SUFFRAJEH RAJAH

between the two, I shall never forget the splendour
of his dress. It reminded me of the Sultans, Caliphs,
and Princes I used to read of in the * Arabian Nights'
Entertainments/ His turban was richly decorated
with jewels, and he had an ornament somewhat like
a herons feather entirely composed of diamonds
issuing from his turban. He had a close jacket of
the richest kincob» a splendid sash^ in which was
stuck his dagger, ornamented with precious stones,
and also a scimitar, the handle and scabbard of
which were similarly ornamented. He spoke
English very well, and was dignified and graceful in
his manners. All the officers got presents ; the
Colonel got a splendid star, and the other officers
according to their rank. I got a cloth of gold
sufficient for a dress. All went off extremely well
This ceremony took place soon after we left Vellum.
Mr. Benjamin Torin, the Civil Resident, lived a
.short distance from the Fort of Tanjore. He had
rcome out for the second time in the same fleet that
we came in to India. My kind and good guardian,
Mr. Hutchinson, who had a house in the vicinity of
Englefield Green, where Mr, Torin s family had
Jong resided, was so kind, unknown to me, as to
'mention my name to him. The consequence was
Mr. Torin never gave a dinner-party that I did not
get a card of invitation to meet all the senior
officers, and among the rest Colonel Aston, These
two dons used to endeavour to outdo each other
in the elegance of their entertainments, and they

8o ELERS MEMOIRS

always, as if by mutual consent, invited me to
them.

It was during our stay at Tanjore we lost two
officers : Lieutenant Cassidy and Lieutenant William
Gahan, the latter one of the finest young men in the
raiment. He was much lamented. Our men
during our stay at Tanjore were very sickly ; every
evening we had two or three funerals. I used to
amuse myself by looking at the Hindoo women
bathing themselves morning and evening, and
fetching their water in brass vessels upon their
heads, holding and balancing them most gracefully
with one hand, the other hanging down or holding
up the robe clinging wet and tightly round their
symmetrical figures. Here from early dawn till the
shades of night were females of all ages, from the
child of ten to the venerable matron. What practice
for the chisel of a Canova or a Thorwaldsen !
Nothing could be finer than the busts of these
women, and as far as the knees they were perfect ;
but their legs were in general faulty. They had not
that lovely roundness that distinguishes the legs of
the European women. Yet their hands and feet
were certainly small. The large tank, with some
hundred or more steps leading to the water, was
just opposite to my quarter, and I used to amuse
myself by endeavouring to copy their Grecian
attitudes and graceful figures. It was at this place
that I acquired great skill in shooting with a pellet
bow. I could with some certainty hit anything

ARNEE

8 1

twenty or thirty yards off. I one day espied one
of our officers' servants squatting down smoking a
cheroot, I fired, and hit the poor fellow in the
mouth. Away vanished the extinguished weed I
was delighted, and laughed very heartily at the man's
astonished looks ; but I never after repeated the
foolish experiment.

We received orders to march from Tanjore to a
station called Arnee about the month of October, as
the army was to be formed in that neighbourhood to
be in readiness to act against Tippoo Sultan if he
did not comply with certain requisitions made to
him by Government in February ensuing. We
arrived at Arnee during the rains, and here, un-
fortunately, my dear Colonel Aston left the regiment.
and proceeded on leave to Madras, leaving the
regiment under the command of Major Picton.
Among the officers we received in exchange from
other regiments was a Lieutenant Hartley of the 36th*
He was a middle-aged man, and from having been
some years in the country had acquired a good deal
of local information and experience. He was a fine
looking fellow, with honest and blunt manners and
good temper. He was frequently consulted by the
Colonel on matters connected with different customs
pursued by the 36th Regiment, and by degrees
acquired some influence and favour with theColoneL
Most unfortunately for the latter, they corresponded
during this temporary absence of the Colonel from
the regiment. It appears that Lieutenant Hartley

82 ELERS MEMOIRS

had some difference with Major Allen, who was our
^ paymaster, on the subject of his accounts, and
represented the business in his letters to Colonel
Aston in his own way. Colonel Aston in his reply
to Hartley said : * If Major Allen has used you as
you say, I think he has not treated you liberally^
or words to that effect. There is no doubt that
Colonel Aston, when he made use of this term,
never dreamed that Hartley would have so far
abused his confidence as to read his letter to
different officers of the regiment, which he did ;
and this coming to the ears of Major Allen, a
man of a high sense of honour, he immediately
consulted his friend and countryman. Major Picton.
Major Picton at once issued an order for all the
officers to assemble at his quarters to investigate the
difference between Major Allen and Lieutenant
Hartley. And that result proved from the in-
vestigation that Major Allen's accounts were
perfectly clear with Lieutenant Hartley, and that he
(the Major) did not merit the observation Colonel
Aston made upon Hartley's representation. The
minutes of this court of inquiry were immediately
forwarded to Colonel Aston, who in a state of great
excitement made up his mind to join his regiment
at once, for the purpose of issuing a very severe
order against Major Picton for presuming to take
advantage of his (Colonel A.'s) temporary absence
to call a meeting of the officers without his sanction.
But previously to doing this he consulted his friend

COLONEL WELLESLEY'S ADVICE

Colonel Wellesley, and showed him the order he
intended to issue. Colonel Wellesley said to him :
• You have asked my advice. By no means issue
the order/ Aston replied : ' I have made up my
mind* and will do it/ * Then why, if you had made
up your mind to do so, consult me on the subject ?'
And they left each other mutually dissatisfied.
Colonel Wellesley related this conversation to mc
two years afterwards. Colonel Aston, on joining the
regiment, issued the order. Major Picton im-
mediately applied for leave of absence, to consult
his friends as to what course he ought to take.

It was during his absence that I lived a good
deal with the Colonel at a bungalow he had a short
distance from the fort of Amee, and Colonel
Cotton, who commanded the 22nd Light Dragoons
at Arcot, came over and passed a few days with
Colonel Aston, Colonel Cotton asked permission
for me to return with him to spend a few days in
hunting and shooting, and I then saw my dear
Colonel alive for the last lime. After dinner on
that day the conversation turned on a fatal duel
that had just taken place in the island of Ceylon*
The circumstances were rather remarkable, but I
forget the parties' names. The person who gave
the offence received the fire of his adversary, and
then, apologizing to him, acknowledged he had been
to blame. But he had no sooner done this than he
addressed the second of his adversary, and said :
' But you, sir, I have an account to settle with,

6—2

84 ELERS MEMOIRS

You insulted me in the manner in which you
delivered your friend's message. Be so good as to
take his place and give me satisfaction for the insult.'
He did so, and was shot dead the first fire. Colonel
Aston remarked that if such results oftener took
place, fewer duels would be fought on frivolous
occasions. In the course of the evening, soon after
coffee, some pistol-bullets lying on a table, someone
of the party took one up, observing what an un-
pleasant thing it would be to have one in one s body.
Poor Aston, with a foreboding tone, as I thought,
replied : * That has been the fate of many better
than you or I.'

After spending a very pleasant ten days at Arcot
with Colonel Cotton, one evening as we were
drinking our wine an express arrived from Arnee
stating that Colonel Aston had that morning
(Sunday) fought a duel with Major Allen, and had
been shot, but that he still lived. The Colonel and
I were much distressed at this unfortunate news,
and ere the day dawned we were on our horses on
our route to Arnee. I had not the nerve to enter
his bedroom, but I heard his dreadful groans all
over the house. He sometimes said : * I can bear
pain, but sickness unmans me.' I used to attend
the doctor's report every hour in the day. From
the first they gave little hope of his recovery, until
about the fifth day, when the extreme pain began
to subside, and there appeared some faint hopes of
him. But this cessation of pain was occasioned by

ASTON'S DEATH

mortification having taken place, and at about six
oclock in the evening of the seventh day he ceased
to exist. Colonel Welles ley arrived two or three
days after the duel, and I heard Aston say : * Ah,
my dear Arthur, is it you ? I shall now die happy/
Immediately after his death, I went to the couch he
was lying on, attended by Dn Campbell, the surgeon.
He turned down the sheet that covered him and
pointed to where the bullet had entered his side.
It was a dark and livid mark, not a hole, but the
skin split in a triangular form, on a level with and
6 inches from the navel. The bullet went through
the liver and passed entirely through the vertebra
of the backbone, then took an oblique direction
downwards, and lodged in the muscles of the hip.

Major Picton sent him a challenge on the Saturday
preceding, and he met him, attended by Captain
Craigie as his second. Major Picton s second was
Lieutenant Crawford. Major Picton*s pistol missed
fire, and he threw it down on the ground in a rage.
The Colonel told him to " try again/ The seconds
very properly would not allow this, and, on Colonel
Aston's firing in the air, they would not allow the
business to proceed further. They shook hands,
but the Colonel said ; * Remember, the order must
stand ; no rescinding/ He afterwards said : * Well,
Picton, you and your friend must come and dine
with me to-day, and all must henceforward be
forgot/ The next day was Sunday, and on that
day it was customary for the captains of their com-

86 ELERS MEMOIRS

panics to wait on the commanding officer with the
state of their companies. Major Allen, who was
only a major by brevet, presented his at the break-
fast-table, and remained until every officer had
retired. When alone with Colonel Aston, he said :
* I wish to consult you. Colonel, about exchanging
out of the regiment. From certain unpleasant cir-
cumstances that have lately occurred I find my
situation, after the reflections you have applied to me,
not what it was.' Colonel Aston said : ' If you ask
my opinion, I think, as senior Captain, you would
be wrong to quit the regiment ; and with respect
to your feelings, I am ready to atone in any way
you wish.' 'Will you, then, give me a meeting?'
demanded Allen. * Certainly, instantly. But allow
me to say you have been very tardy in demanding
it. I have been some days with the regiment without
assuming the command of it, to give you and others
who feel aggrieved an opportunity of satisfying
themselves.' Previously to going out, which was
very shortly arranged, he sent for the Adjutant, and
desired him to go to all the officers and to say that
if any one of them felt themselves aggrieved he was
ready to satisfy them instantly, one after the other,
and finish the business altogether.

The Colonel and Captain Craigie happened to
arrive on the ground a few minutes before Captain
Allen and his second, an assistant-surgeon of the
name of Erskine. Captain Allen apologized for
keeping him waiting, adding : ' I am sorry, upon

ASTON'S FUNERAL

my soul, Colonel Aston, it should ever come to this.'
Colonel Aston merely said : * Take your ground.
sir/ The distance was measured, Allen fired, and
from the circumstance of the Colonel standing per-
fectly upright with his pistol levelled, the seconds
concluded that the ball had passed him. The
Colonel dropped his pistol arm, and said : * I am
wounded, but it shall never be said that the last
act of my life was that of revenge.' Poor Allen
ran up, threw himself on the ground, and was quite
overcome by sorrow and remorse. The Colonel
was assisted into his palanquin, and met one of his
officers, a Lieutenant Falla, soon after himself killed
before Seringapatam, * Well, Falla/ said the Colonel,
• I have got a confounded lick in the guts, but I hope
I shall get over it/

I have seen many dead men, but never saw one
that looked like poor Aston. He appeared just as
though he were asleep— his long, dark eyelashes
closed, and the sweetest smile upon his lips. It
seemed to give the assurance that his immortal soul
had taken its flight to the realms of bliss. The
passage from death to the grave is very rapid in
that warm climate, and ere twenty-four hours had
expired he was in his last earthly resting-place. He,
of course, had a military funeral ; his own regiment
and a native regiment and a company of the artillery
attended. Minute guns were fired, and every de-
monstration of respect paid. His beautiful Arab
charger was hung with crape, and his boots pendant

ELERS MEMOIRS

from the holsters. When the body was brought out
of the house the horse was standing near the door.
At the sight of the coffin he started back, reared up.
and fell oven It appeared that even the horse felt
sensible that he had lost his master.

There is no doubt that when Colonel Aston left
England he had settled all his affairs by disposing
of his property, but not that part which he had in
India, consisting of horses, wine, plate» furniture,
etc. These he left to his friend Captain Craigie,
with the exception of the Arab horse Diomed, which
he left to Colonel Wellesley. He also desired that my
note of hand to him for a considerable sum might
be destroyed, as well as a miniature of a lady and
several papers. These were thrown down a deep
well in the garden. His stock of clothes, etc, that
he bought in England was immense ; I have heard
from fifty to one hundred pairs of boots. I re-
member on the passage out I had a painful boil on
my arm ; the scar I have to this day. He lent me a
loose jacket to wear. 1 said I was afraid I should
deprive him of it, as there were no laundresses on
board ship. He said : 'Never mind; I have two
hundred more/ His tailors made for me when I
returned home^ — the Croziers, of Panton Square —
and they assured me they used to take him home
thirty coats at a time* And if they did not fit
exactly he used to kick them out of the room*

Such a sensation his untimely death made that it
was long the topic of conversation. In him I lost

ALLEN'S DEATH 89

the best and kindest friend I ever had. I should
now have been, barring the casualties of war, a
General, with orders and decorations, like many of
those now wearing them, who were only subalterns
when I had the rank of Captain. He always assured
me I should be his A.D.C. The two Majors were
placed in arrest, sent down to Madras, and tried by
a court-martial. They were admonished, and Allen
was tried in the Civil Court and acquitted. They
both returned to their duty with the regiment. But
poor Allen never held up his head afterwards. He
died in less than three months of a raging fever.

CHAPTER VII

Ill-health — Vellore — Pass of Amboor — To Seringapatam — Just too
late for its fall — A palace hospital — Saved by port- wine — *01d
Sour Crout' — The lottery of the service — Another lottery
of ;^2o,ooo — Mrs. Tennant — Baffled hopes — Restoration of
lawful Rajah of Mysore — Prize-money — The doctor and the
diamonds — Colonel Wellesley's foiled night attack — General
Baird's generosity — The Duke of York and General Harris
— A cure for snake-bites — Dr. Scheltky's death — St. Thom^
— Rejoins regiment.

Soon after the death of my dear friend Aston I
lost both health and spirits. I joined the army, but
kept my tent, from a violent attack of the liver,
attended with burning fever. I had no palanquin ;
none but officers of the highest rank could afford to
keep one, and I was too ill to sit on my horse.
Colonel Cotton and the Hon. Major de Grey were
kind enough to send one of theirs to me every
morning to convey me to the new encampment.

I got as far as Vellore, when I was obliged to go
into quarters while the army were halting for a few
days, and when they marched I made an effort to
join them. I never shall forget the Pass of Amboor,
surrounded by immense mountains : the hottest part
of the season, an army of 25,000 men, and ten times

[90]

ILL AT KISHNAGHERRY

that number at least accompanying it with bullocks,
horses, elephants, etc., for the transport of the

^ baggage, heavy artillery, etc. No clean water to
be had but the colour of the dirtiest puddle, and
this for a poor sick devil, I clung to the army as
long as I could hold up my head, and when we
came to the foot of the Ghaut that divides Mysore
from the Carnatic I was ordered with other sick
officers and men to proceed to the fort of Kish-

^ nagherry. I was put down more dead than alive at
the house of Scott Jackson, the paymaster of the
district He came out for the second time in the
same fleet with myself. He received me in the
most kind and hospitable manner He was a gentle-
manlike, elegant young man. and he paid me every
attention. I had also two clever medical men to
attend me — a Dr. McMorris, still living, and a
Dn Orde, long since dead.

I had been living about a month with Jackson,
when we heard news from the army. Among the
casualties in my regiment was the death of poor
Falla from a cannon-ball, a twelve-pounder, from
the fort of Seringapatam, three miles distant from

^our trenches. It rolled in and buried itself in poor
Falla s groin. It was the most remarkable wound
ever seen, and the general conversation of the army,
for the shot was not to be seen, the flesh swelling
completely over it. George Nixon, Lieutenant of
Grenadiers, lost his arm and part of his side by a
rocket, and the same rocket struck the legs of his

ELERS MEMOIRS

brother Robert, making a dreadful deep wound.
George died, but Robert recovered, and is now
living. There were two detachments of the army
in our vicinity* or, more correctly speaking, only
one — Colonel Reads. The other, under Colonel
Brown, was several marches off, hastening to join
Colonel Read, bringing up rice and other stores for
the use of the army. I joined Colonel Read with
other sick officers and men who were convalescent,
but had to wait with Colonel Read for the junction
of Colonel Brown several days. Had we proceeded
alone ivithout waiting, we should have been present
at the capture of that fortress. We arrived three
days too late, and had the mortification of hearing
the cannonade going on without being present at
It* The long and fatiguing marches of this army
caused me to have a relapse, as I had not perfectly
recovered. I was seized with a confirmed dysentery,
and on arriving with my regiment I was ordered
into the palace of the Lai Bagh, which was one of
the country palaces of Tippoo Sultan, converted into
a hospital, in the gardens of which was a mosque
shaded by cypress- trees, where lay the remains of
his father, Hyder Ali, his wives and children, and
lastly, deposited only a few days before, the body of
Tippoo Sultan. These beautiful gardens, shaded
with luxuriant trees and broad gravel walks, were
dug with deep trenches, and yet from the hardness
of the ground not sufficiently deep for graves for the
poor soldiers who were carried when dead out of

A PALACE HOSPITAL

the gorgeous palace to be interred in these ready-
fnade ^t2LVt.^, and from their being so very shallow
the jackals came at night and pulled them out again,
I have often seen an arm with the red sleeve hanging
out of a grave, the soldiers always being buried in
their uniforms.

On my arrival sick at the palace I found all the
private soldiers lying on the bare ground, some in
the agonies of death. It was a shocking sight to
behold. The heat and smell were dreadful The
upper rooms were assigned to the officers. Captain
Buckeridge of ours and Lieutenant Perceval went
into this hospital sick. They both died there ;
indeed^ few who breathed this pestiferous air ever
came out alive. Fortunately for me I was obliged
to return to camp» there not being any vacant corner
to place me in. I thought it mattered very little
where I died, for I did not expect to live more than
a few hours. My inside appeared to be all gone,
and part of the intestines absolutely given way.
The whole camp teemed with death and contagion.
The flies and insects settled upon everything that
was eatable, and the bullocks and other animals
dying continually, these flies were continually feasting
upon their carcases, and then settled upon our faces
and provisions. I lay in this deplorable state for
two or three days, when a Lieutenant Ashton brought
me a couple of bottles of port w^ine which he had
purchased at some deceased officer's sale. From
the moment I took two glasses of this precious wine

94 ELERS MEMOIRS

[ gradually recovered, all owing to its astringent
and nourishing properties. This certainly saved
my life. These two bottles of wine fetched a large
price, such was the scarcity of wine in general, but
more particularly port, which is never tasted in India
but as medicine.

On my arrival before Seringapatam I found a
new Lieutenant-Colonel appointed from the 74th
Regiment, known in that regiment by the sobriquet
of 'Old Sour Crout.' Never did man merit the
name better. He was a zealous, brave old man,
and looked like a gentleman, but nothing pleased
him. He was an old officer, and his name was
Robert Shawe. He often used to boast that the
Honourable Colonel Wellesley was his subaltern
when he commanded the light infantry of the 76th
Regiment He was certainly, without any exception,
the most peevish, waspish, disagreeable old gentle-
man I ever fell in with, and the most difficult to
please. How happy I was to leave his tent when-
ever my duty obliged me to come in contact with
him ! He had a rich Milesian brogue. A favourite
phrase of his was : * Sir, don't spake when I am
spaking' What a contrast to poor dear Aston !

At this time I was very near getting a company
by purchase. A company became vacant in England,
and old Shawe gave out an order that those subal-
terns wishing and able to purchase should send
their names into the orderly-room. I knew I had
the money in England, but the whole sum (;^ 1,500)

PURCHASING A COMPANY

must be placed down immediately. It so happened
that my name appeared to be the first for purchase,
and I believe the only one. Old Shawe sent for
me, and said : * I persave, sir, you are the first officer
for purchase. Where is your money?* In
England, sir/ * That will not do ; it must be
lodged at a house of agency in Madras/ *Very
well, sir/ So I returned to my tent and thought of
all my friends in India, None struck me so likely
as my kind friend Benjamin Torin at Madras. I
wrote to him explaining my situation, and told him
I had that sum in the English Funds, and if he
would take my bills on his friend Mn Hutchinson,
and advance me the money, I should be eternally
obliged to him. By return of post he sent me the
kindest answer^ saying he had lodged the sum of
j^ 1,500 for me in the house of Harrington and Co.
of Madras.

There was in the regiment a very deserving
young Irishman of the name of Eustace, and a
favourite of Colonel Aston's, chiefly from the circum-
stance of his having, when quite a boy, been very
near taken prisoner by the French on the Continent.
and defending a gun very gallantly and narrowly
escaping from the French. Major Craigie requested
Eustace to go to me and beg me to resign my right
to the purchase, as Major Craigie would arrange
the purchase for him, I did not like to take the
advantage which I had over him under the peculiar
circumstances, and I resigned my right in his favour.

96 ELERS MEMOIRS

I did not get my company for four years after this,
and then by purchase, and Captain Eustace got his
majority and Lieutenant-Colonelcy in a few years
after for nothing, which I should have had if I had
insisted upon my right to purchase the company.
Such is the lottery of our service.

Writing of lotteries puts me in mind of my first
cousin, Miss Debonnaire, who was intimate with a
Jew, a stockbroker of the name of Ricardo, and
father of the celebrated rich financier, a man un-
rivalled in his way in the House of Commons, who
acquired an immense fortune by his financial skill
and good management. She desired old Ricardo to
purchase her a ticket in the lottery, and told him he
should have half of it. The old man took one of
his litde sons with him, and told the boy to purchase
a ticket while he sat in the carriage. The boy had
several tickets to choose from. He selected one,
and this ticket came up a ;^20,ooo prize. Miss
Debonnaire gave Ricardo the ;^ 10,000, besides
making many handsome presents. The little boy
got a watch-chain and seals, value fifty guineas,
Lady Curtis a handsome new carriage, and she sent
me ;^ioo. She soon after married her cousin,
William Tennant, Esq., a widower with one only
son, with a good estate in Staffordshire called Little
Aston Hall, worth ;^6,ooo or £7,000 per annum.
This gentleman, notwithstanding his fine estate, was
in want of ;^ 10,000, and on her marriage she made
him a present of that sum ; the rest of her fortune

MRS. TEN N ANT

was settled upon herself. She had also a jointure
of j^joo per annum, which, considering he had but
one son and his large fortune, was a very inade-
quate provision for her. particularly after her liberal
conduct to him upon their marriage. They spent
the honeymoon at Bath, and their turn-out was in
the best style— never less than four horses and two
post-riders. Very few men were better judges of a
horse than Mrs. Tennant, and her taste in building
carriages was perfect. She never had a carriage
more than three years at the utmost. Houlditch, of
Long Acre» used to build for my uncle and aunt^
and also for my cousin Nancy, as we used to call
her. She afterwards patronized Windus, a City
man. During her stay in Bath she went into a
bookseller's shop, where she purchased another
ticket, and this proved a prize of ;^5,ooo. Her
husband did not survive his marriage more than two
years, and his son shortly after married the Hon.
Charlotte Pelham, daughter of Lord Yarborough^
with whom he got a fortune of not more than
;^ 15,000 or ;^20,ooo, which is all, I believe, he ever
received, though his lordships fortune was ^^i 20,000
per annum. ^ Young Tennant in his early years was
a delicate and sickly child. Had he died, all his
estates would have reverted to my cousin, Mrs.
Ten nan t» And she said if they had we should have
been her heirs.

About a month after the siege a poor child about

^ Tbe writer slightly exaggerates Lord Yarborough*s income.

98 ELERS MEMOIRS

ten years old, found in the fort in rags and poverty,
was proved to be a lineal descendant of the Prince
who formerly ruled over the Mysore country, who,
many years before, had been deposed by Hyder
and had had his country taken from him. The
English Government took this favourable oppor-
tunity of restoring this poor child to the musnud of
his ancestors. The city of Mysore is distant from
Seringapatam about ten miles, and our regiment was
selected to preside over his inauguration. It is the
custom to give presents on such ceremonies, and on
this occasion I got a shawl ; so that in the space of
one year I was present at the restoration of two
Raj^s.

The army broke up, and we were marked down
for Bangalore, whither we marched, and encamped
on the glacis of the fort. I drew a bill on England
for ;^300, and my kind friend Mr. Torin honoured
it. I believe the reason I did this was that the
officers having their prize-money to spend and I
having none, having missed the storm by three days
only, I could not do as they did. For had we not
awaited the arrival of Colonel Brown's detachment,
Colonel Read, whom I belonged to, would have
been in time for the storming. It was considered^
very hard case by all the army, and after keeping us
from receiving it for years, it was at length granted
to us ; but I did not receive it until the year 1807,
and without one shilling interest, which was our due.
There are a certain class of people with an army

PRIZE-MONEY

called prize agents. There is no doubt this interest
found its way into their pockets. The sum I re-
ceived was about ^430 ; a Captain received ;^8oo,
a Major ;^2,ooo, a Lieutenant-Colonel ^4,000, a
Major-General ;^i2,ooo» and the Commander-in-
Chief one-eighth of the whole prize-money captured.
The idea at first was that every officer in the army
had made at least from ^10,000 to ^20,000* And
even General Baird, whom I dined with^ expressed
his disappointment at receiving so small a sum as
;^i 2.000. He expected at the very least ;^ioo,ooo.
The wealth captured was enormous, and consisted
of all sorts of property from every Court in Europe.
There was splendid china from the King of France,
clocks, watches, shawls of immense value, trinkets,
jewellery from all nations, pearls, rubies, diamonds!
and emeralds, and every other precious stone made
up into ornaments — even solid wedges and bars of
pure gold. A soldier offered me one for a bottle of
brandy. Many of the officers received part of their
prize-money in jewels at a fixed valuation, I saw
an emerald in its rough and uncut state valued at
;^200. Many of our soldiers acquired by plunder
what would have made them independent for life if
properly managed. I heard that one of them soon
after the storm staggered under as many pagodas as
he could carry — to the amount, it was said, of
j^ 10.000. A soldier of the 74th Regiment got the I
best prize, consisting of two pairs of the Sultan's
armlets, composed of large diamonds of an oval

7—2

icx) ELERS MEMOIRS

shape, each diamond as large as a full-grown
Windsor bean. This man had been confined sick
in the hospital, and had come out of the sick list
in time to be at the storm. Soon after May 4
Dr. Pulteney Mein, the surgeon, was called out of
his tent to speak to this man, who said to him:
* Your honour, I have got some large white stones,
and a black fellow has offered me 1,500 rupees for
them. If you will give me that sum for them they
are yours.' Mein was a liberal, honest, but wary
Scotchman. He knew the value of 1,500 rupees ;
he was not so sure of these white stones. After
some hesitation he said : * Well, it's like purchasing
in the lottery ; I will give you your price.' Rumours
soon spread in the army of the prize which he had
got, and an order was published by the Commander-
in-Chief for all officers to give up their plunder for
the general benefit of the captors. Mein tied these
valuables up in a muslin handkerchief, and wore
them next his skin for upwards of two years.
Meer AUum, a Mahratta prince, offered him an
enormous sum for them. However, he realized
upwards of ;^2,ooo per annum, nothing near what
he had been offered by the prince ; and he was
generous enough to give the soldier an annuity of
;^200, which the poor man did not live long to
enjoy.

I often have mused upon what trifles will turn the
scale and have an influence upon our future fortunes.
Had Colonel Wellesley been an obscure soldier of

A NIGHT ATTACK

lOI

fortune, he would have been brought to a court-
martial, and perhaps received such a reprimand for
bad management as might have induced him in
disgust to have resigned His Majesty's service,
whereby one of the greatest soldiers England ever
had would have been lost to the country. But
Colonel Wellesley^ fortunately for himself and his
country, was brother to the Governor-General of
India, and that was enough to wipe away any
neglect or bad management, if any existed ; but
which, in Colonel Wellesley's case, I believe did nai
exist, and might have happened to any man, however
experienced and vigilant.

Within a short distance of Seringapatam a large
wood or tope lay between the fort and our army.
The enemy were strongly posted there, and it was
necessary to dislodge them. Colonel Wellesley was
ordered on this service with the 33rd Regiment and
a regiment of native infantry. The Colonel that
I evening had dined with General Harris, and at
night he proceeded to execute the orders he had
received to drive the enemy out and take possession
of it. The night was dark as pitch forward^ and in
the rear towards our camp the fires and lights burnt
brilliantly, which increased the darkness in front.
The force under the Colonel moved towards the
wood cautiously and silently, when suddenly a fire
from all directions was poured in upon them.
' Where's Colonel Wellesley ?' resounded on all
sideSp and the Colonel was nowhere to be found.

[02

ELERS MEMOIRS

The officers were trying to find the Colonel, and the
Colonel vainly endeavouring to find them. All
was confusion, and they were surrounded both by
friends and enemies firing on each other.

Colonel Wellesley, finding it impossible from the
utter darkness of the night to discern any object,
and despairing from this ever to form his force
together, returned to camp, and repaired to the
dining tent of General Harris overcome with
despair at his failure. He eagerly inquired for the
General. One of the servants said : * Master,
General Sahib, gone to sleep.' In a state of
distraction Colonel Wellesley threw himself^ with
all his clothes on, on the table (at which a few hours
before he had dined), awaiting the dawn of day.

General Harris, having received the report of
this untoward business, immediately called his staflf,
and General Baird was sent for to take the command
of a new force to dislodge the enemy. Baird said :
* No ; Colonel Wellesley has failed, not through the
want of skill or bravery, but from circumstances.
He is a young man, and if I supersede him it may
cast a slur on his future career as a military man.
Let him have the command by daylight, and I will
answer for it he will carry the wood and drive the
enemy out as well as I can.' The command was
given to Wellesley, and he achieved it, as Baird
foretold. The night attack which was so unfortunate
was on April 5 ; and on May 4 the fort was stormed,
and General Baird commanded the storming party

BAIRD'S SUPERSESSION

103

and took possession of the fort, where he remained
as commanding officer for about ten days.

I received all the fortncr part of this narrative
from the Colonels A.D.C, Captain Hughes, of the
74th Regiment. With respect to the unjust affair
of the superseding poor Baird in the command of
Seringapatam, I heard it from Colonel Wellesley's
own statement, in the apartment of the palace, the
Dowlet Bagh, where the scene occurred. Colonel
Wellesley said, in his rapid manner of speaking : * I
went down to Baird one morning early, and found
him at breakfast with his staff, ** General Baird, I
am appointed to the command of Seringapatam, and
here is the order of General Harris.'* Baird imme-
diately rose, and addressing his staff, said : ** Come,
gentlemen, we have no longer any business here/' '
Wellesley said ; * Oh, pray finish your breakfast.'
This is all that Colonel Wellesley told me about
this curious scene. Some two years afterwards,
upon General Harris's return home, and on attending
the Duke of York at one of his levees at the Horse
Guards, Harris, who was not very quick in a
difficuky, was asked quickly and suddenly by the
Duke : * Pray» General Harris, what reason had you
for superseding General Baird in the command of
Seringapatam and giving it to a junior officer ?'
Poor Harris stammered, and was at a loss for a
reply, and the Duke turned his back upon him, and
began a conversation with some officers.

Having received my j^300 for my bill from

I04 ELERS MEMOIRS

Mr. Torin, the first thing I did was to buy a charger —
cavalry saddle, Gibson's bit, holsters all complete —
for which I paid ;^i20. My horse, which I bought
of my^ Captain Woodall, cost ;^ioo, and my pony I
exchanged with Dr. Campbell for Colonel Aston's
duelling pistols, as they involve no charge for main-
tenance, and I saved the keep of the pony, and they
completed my cavalry equipment. My charger was
full 1 5 hands high, colour a very dark chestnut, a
beautiful shoulder, high crest, a hollow back, very
blood-like racing hind-quarters, with a showy blood
tail. His having a hollow back was a bad point, but
when one was on his back with a cavalry saddle and
being well thrown on his haunches, nothing could be
more delightful and easy to ride. He had great
spirit, but was of good temper.

I left Bangalore for Madras in company with an
old officer who went by the name of Cornet Kippen,
I suppose from his holding that rank so many
years, for at the time I knew him he was a Captain
of native cavalry. He was uncouth in his manners,
but sociable, and he used to entertain me during our
journey with various Indian anecdotes. I afterwards
heard one of him and General Baird laughable
enough. The Cornet was a man of very great
curiosity ; he happened one day to be in General
Baird's tent when he was answering some letters he

^ By « my ' Captain the author evidently refers to Captain
Woodall's being in command of the Light Infantry Company to
which he himself belonged (see p. 42). — Ed.

A COBRA'S BITE

105

id just received from England. Turning suddenly
round, he saw the Cornet peeping over his shoulder
reading them. All the reproof he gave him was ;
* Mr Kippen, here are others of a later date V

On our march one morning we observed at a dis-
tance a group of natives digging at a mound of earth,
and one of them kneeling down ; and as we came up to
the man he very suddenly withdrew his hand, having
been bitten in the finger by a snake. In the course
of two or three minutes the man began to feel great
pain and sickness. The natives tied a bandage very
tight round his arm, and applied a small gray stone
to the punctures in his finger In a few minutes
he was relieved from the pain, and in the course of
half an hour the stone was taken off the wound, and
the man declared he felt quite well I purchased
this stone of the natives, and they told me if we had
any milk and put the stone into the milk, it would
cause the milk to bubble up as though it were boil-
ing. They pulled the snake out of the hole, and it
proved to be a large cobra de capetlo, I drew my
sword to kill it, but they would not allow me. They
said that the man bitten would die if I killed the
snake. The natives of India never kill them, and
they are generally worshipped and preserved.

A melancholy accident happened in the gardens
of the palace, A doctor named Scheltky be-
longed to the Scotch Brigade* Dn Campbelli of
my regiment, and Dr, Scheltky had their tents
pitched close together near the hospital. Dr. S.onc

io6 ELERS MEMOIRS

night came into Dr. Campbells tent nearly undressed
to smoke a cigar and chat for half an hour before
going to bed. On his return Campbell heard the
doctor cry out : * I have either been hit by a stone
on the leg or I have been bitten by a snake.* Camp-
bell brought a light, and in one comer of the tent lay
coiled up a large snake. Campbell got his gun and
killed it. It was not a cobra, but was most beauti-
fully marked with rings as far as the centre of the
body, and it had a long tail gradually ending in a
point. Poor Scheltky died in great pain three days
afterwards. There are about forty-seven or fifty
different species of snakes in the East Indies, of
which not more than seven are venomous. The
cobra de monil is reckoned by the natives as the
most deadly. It is not more than a foot and a half
long. The snake-snatchers are in great dread of
this snake.

My friend the Cornet parted from me about forty
or fifty miles short of Madras, and I was left to
pursue my journey with only my servants for
company. I missed the Cornet very much. I
passed one or two days in a choultry, confined to
it by incessant rain, it being the very middle of the
monsoon, and my entry into the fort of Madras was
very inauspicious. Turning short round, through
the Wallagah Gateway, my horse, from the slippery
state of the roads, slipped down on all fours.
Neither of us, very fortunately, received any hurt.
I know not what took me into the fort, for there

REJOINS REGIMENT

107

was only one tavern, and that, like all others, very
bad and ruinously expensive* I went finally to one
of the taverns in the Black Town ; 1 found out that
they were dirty and expensive, and not very respect-
able, only frequented by unfortunate midshipmen,
who had no friends to receive them ashore, and who
spent in two or three days* residence more than
what their pay amounted to in twice as many
months. So I went out to live at St, Thome, about
two miles from Madras, close to the sea. And here
I found Captains Crawford and Nixon of ours, and
Captain Dalrymple of the 74th. all living together
most comfortably in a fine house. So I was in no
want of society.

After living here till the beginning of January,
my regiment had moved from Bangalore into the
Carnatic* and had arrived at a station called Walla-
jahbad, forty miles from Madras. I joined my
I regiment at this station, got into a good quarter,
I and found a good billiard- table, a good regimental
library, and excellent shooting and hunting. The
snipes are capital eating. A good shot will bring
home thirty brace a day. I never killed more than
seven brace; but I was not a good shot The
exercise in the heat of the sun is very hard work
indeed, and trying to the constitution. We had
moderate drills and evening parades, and in the
middle of the day we amused ourselves visiting
each other's quarters and gossiping under the long
verandas. We had also a very good mess. We

io8 ELERS MEMOIRS

spent our time very pleasantly. I bought a beautiful
little pony, so that I now had a good charger, and
the pony was so quiet that I could shoot off his
back.

Our regiment received orders about June to march
to Poonamallee, about fifteen miles from Madras,
there to remain till further orders. It was reported
that it was destined to go on an expedition to
Batavia. I was first for detachment, and I was
ordered to remain at Wallajahbad with the sick
men, about fifty in number, and a guard of about
twenty or thirty men, together with the assistant-
surgeon, Dr. Erskine, and a sick officer, Lieu-
tenant Langford. This poor man had only dined
with us twice, when he took to his bed and died.
I saw him when dead. He looked sad and
sorrowful, different from Winstone, who had the
most stem expression of feature, or from poor
Colonel Aston, who looked as if he were asleep
with a sweet smile. I buried this poor man by
reading the Burial Service over him and firing three
volleys over the grave. I had this melancholy
office to perform over several of the soldiers. I
found myself very dull here, separated from my
regiment, though it was a source of great profit to
me, as I made a considerable sum from the bazaar,
from my situation as commanding officer over
seventy or eighty men.

CHAPTER VIII

Colonel Harcourt — Lieutenant Price broken — Cotiote expedition
— ^An engagement — Jungle fever — Talatcberi — With Colonel
Wellesley from Cannanore — A dangerous journey— A strange
accident — The Rajah of Coorg— At Seringapatam with
Wellesley — Hunting with cheetahs — A court-martial —
Wellesley's gallantries.

At length I received my orders to join, with all the
sick, the headquarters of the regiment at Poonamallee.
and there I heard to my great joy that old Sour
Crouts appointment to our regiment was not
approved of at home, and that he was to go back to
his own corps, the 74th, and also that we might
expect a fine young man to join us, a Lieutenant-
Colonel George William Richard Harcourt,^ whose
kind and amiable manners were to restore harmony
and good-humour to the corps after poor Aston s
melancholy business. In a very short time Colonel
Harcourt arrived from England, bringing with him
both officers and men for the regiment. He was a
tall, thin young man of about twenty-eight years of
age, with a pale face, slight and elegantly turned

1 George William Richard Harcourt, younger son of John
Harcourt, of Ankerwyke, County Bucks. A Major-General in
the Army ; died unmarried

I '09 ]

no ELERS MEMOIRS

figure, small aquiline nose, large whiskers and light
brown hair, without powder. His manners were
perfectly polished, and he seemed to say : * I am
come to make you all happy and heal all your
differences.* He had commanded the 40th Regi-
ment in the West Indies, and had been wounded
severely some short time before. He brought out
with him a young man as a servant, to whom he
was much attached. He also brought out a fashion-
able curricle, which I sold for him two years later to
Colonel Wellesley, He arrived with plate, books,
and everything in the best possible style. I was
one of the first officers of the regiment he saw, and
he seemed pleased with my stud and paid me some
compliments upon my riding. We were all highly
delighted with our new and young Colonel, and so
he appeared with us. We were soon after, to our
great annoyance, divided. Two companies were
sent to sea, supposed destined, in company with
other troops, for Batavia, and three other companies
were sent to the southward, under Major Picton,
against some turbulent Polygar Rajahs. The
remaining five companies with Colonel Harcourt,
the flank company's band and colours, marched to
the Mysore country. We had a very pleasant
march through the Carnatic, and we kept up our
mess until we arrived at the Ghauts, when it was
too much trouble and difficulty for our mess men to
carry it on further, and then we divided ourselves
into small mess parties, and provided for ourselves

AN OFFICER BROKEN

1 1 r

as well as we could. My brother syb., Robert Sale,
now a Colonel in the 13th Regiment, messed with
me. and Colonel Harcourt and Captain Nixon and
Crawford messed together^ and they often gave us
capital dinners and breakfasts.

During our march, after we had entered the
Mysore country, an unfortunate dispute took place
between a Lieutenant Price and Captain Nixon, I
do not know the origin of the quarrel, but Price was
a hot-headed young Irishman, and committed him-
self in a way that obliged Colonel Harcourt to
put him under arrest. And he was in this situa-
tion when Colonel Wellesley happened to come
across us on his march down to the Carnatic, he
being appointed to proceed with troops destined to
join Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt. Colonel
Wellesley, who then commanded the troops in
Mysore, gave orders that a general court-martial
should assemble for the trial of Lieutenant Price,
and, poor fellow, he was broke. It was a most
distressing sight seeing him every day riding with-
out his sword, and, after the sentence, deprived of
his two epaulettes, being a Lieutenant of Grenadiers.
All this scene was distressing to Colonel Harcourt,
but he was obliged to report what had taken place,
with so unpleasant a result. This made Captain
Nixon very unpopular with a few of the junior part
of the regiment, and there was a hot young Irish
assistant - surgeon, a Mr. Washington Price {no
relation to the officer of that name who had been

112 ELERS MEMOIRS

broke), who was particularly violent against Nixon.
A fierce quarrel broke out many months after at
Seringapatam, which ended in a duel at Warriore,
near Trichinopoli, in the Carnatic.

After marching for some time about the Mysore
country, we were ordered to proceed to Seringapatam
previously to an army of about 5,000 men being
formed under the command of Colonel Stephenson,
of the Madras Cavalry, to proceed to the Cotiote
country against the Rajah of that name. The army
was divided into three brigades. Colonel Harcourt
commanded one of them. Our five companies and
the 77th Regiment were the First Brigade, and I
was appointed Colonel Harcourt's Brigade-Major.
The Cotiote country lies distant, I should suppose,
from Seringapatam about sixty to eighty miles due
west, and between it and Mysore lies a small
territory called Coorg, the Rajah of which has
always been at peace with the Company, while the
Rajah of Cotiote has invariably been hostile, and it
was in the early part of 1 797 when he surprised a
battalion of native infantry and they were all
massacred. No favourable opportunity having
occurred to avenge this barbarity, our force was
destined for that purpose. The country is by nature
very strong, filled with thick jungle, with no roads
and deep rivers, and not ground enough clear from
wood to encamp 100 men. We were led to
expect a very unpleasant service, as it proved to be.
In a few marches we crossed the frontier of the

COTIOTE EXPEDITION

113

enemy s country. The roads were very bad, and in
getting into the country of Cotiote the pioneers
were constantly employed, and our progress was
very slow, not more than a mile, or at most two
miles an hour A broad and rapid river ran on our
left, and we could not see, from the thickness of the
jungle, more than a few yards from our flanks.

It was on January 9, 1801, that we commenced
hostilities. The road took a sharp turn to the left,
and brought us nearly in front and in view of this
rapid and deep river, the name of which I forget,
when from the opposite banks the enemy opened
his fire from the tops of the trees upon our advanced
guards which was supported by the Grenadiers of
the 12th Regiment. We could not see a man, but
could perceive the fire from the top of the trees.
Some of the Grenadiers plunged Into the stream,
but were obliged to return for fear of being drowned.
We poured in platoon after platoon upon them, but
could make no impression until we brought up a
gun, and the juice of tfie grape by degrees silenced
them. We did not lose many men» considering. I
saw two of our Grenadiers lying lifeless, being shot
through the head> and several others lying dead*
Colonel Harcourt took it very coolly, as he was
accustomed to engagements, laughing and taking
his snuff as usual. As for myself, I was very well
content when it was all over and the rascals fairly
off. Our loss was very inconsiderable, not above
thirty men altogether.

114 ELERS MEMOIRS

On this march we established a strong post on
halting, and built a strong stockade there. The
post and village were called Manantaudi. Here we
remained three weeks, sending out strong parties to
scour the country, and we used to have a good deal
of bush fighting, and the natives used to fire at us
from behind trees. One man of my company was
shot through the lungs in this way ; the ball entered
his chest and out at his back. The poor fellow
died in the course of the night. He was close to
me when he was shot.

I had been with the army about three or four
months upon this service when, in crossing a river
one day, I suddenly got into deep water and fell in
over head and ears. I was very hot at the time,
and the next day I had a regular attack of what
they call jungle fever. We had nearly effected our
object. The enemy fled in all directions, and there
was scarcely a man to be seen. Our men got sickly
from this unwholesome country, where the sun
never penetrated, and the miasma arising from the
rotting vegetation proved very prejudicial to their
health. We were, therefore, expecting every hour
to receive orders to march and do the garrison
duty of Seringapatam. We were not above forty
miles from a place on the coast of Malabar called
Talatcheri. And to this place I went for change
of air. I found here a Mr. Waddell, of the Bombay
Civil Service, who very kindly showed both myself.
Colonel Harcourt, and Captain Crawford much

COLONEL WELLESLEY

hospitable attention. These two only remained
here a day or two, when they returned to the
regiment, leaving me to stay a few days more for
the benefit of the sea-breeze* We had a Captain
Macleod lately appointed to us» an old oflficer in
bad health, living at Talatcheri. I called upon him,
and saw a most beautiful Arab horse tied up in his
yard. I fell in love with htm, and Captain Macleod
agreed to accept in exchange for this Arab a very
handsome mare of mine, which I had bought of an
officer of the 19th Light Dragoons, and for which I
had paid 100 pagodas ; I also paid Captain Macleod
about 70 pagodas extra. This Arab had a most
beautiful head, a large dark eye like an antelope ;
he was a silver-gray, with a dark mane, and long
square tail of the same colour. He had broken
knees, and was very apt to trip, but he was the
quietest creature in the world. Often have I laid
down by his side at night when he has been sleep-
ing. He was just I4'2. This horse afterwards
proved a little fortune to me. Colonel Wellesley
having been superseded in command of the Indian
force for Egypt by General Baird at Bombay, by
order, I believe, of his brother at Calcutta, landed
either at Talatcheri or Cannanore, attended by his
A.D.C, Captain West, of the 33rd Regiment, and
his Persian interpreter, Major Ogg, of the Com-
pany s service. I saw him, and he said to me :
* Elers, I think it will be better for you to accom-
pany me to Seringapatam, where I shall go directly.

8—2

ii6

ELERS MEMOIRS

and where your regiment will follow to be stationed
there, and you can Hve with me until they arrive/
I thanked him> and I joined him at Cannanore. 1
had with me my horses, servants, baggage, and
camp equipage.

Colonel Wellesley*s health at this time was not
very good. He had had a touch of the jungle fever
in the Bullum country, and I beHeve at Bombay a
violent eruption came out all over his body ; but
when I saw him he was getting convalescent, but
was rather subject to slight touches of fever and
ague. No one but those who have experienced
these attacks are sensible how they undermine the
constitution. They will turn a young man's hair
gray very soon. I was but twenty-four years old
when my favourite servant Francis, a Portuguese
Christian, said : * Master getting quite old gentle-
man. I see two, three, four gray hairs/ I said :
* Pull them out, you rascal." * Oh no, master ; me
pull out, tousand come.' Colonel Wellesley was
just thirty-two, and I saw some about his temples
mixed with his fine crop of light-brown hain
Colonel Wellesley had a magnificent tent to dine in,
the largest I ever saw. It took thirty Lascars to
raise it.

When we left Cannanore we had only a guard of
six troopers ; between us and our friend the Coorga
Rajah's country lay part of our enemy's, the Cotiote
country. Colonel Wellesley and 1 dashed on to-
gether first, unaccompanied by his staff or the

A PERILOUS RIDE

117

troopers, when he observed to me : * Now. Elers,
if we are taken prisoners, I shall be hanged as being
brother to the Governor- General, and you will be
hanged for being found in bad company.' We had
not to go above thirty miles, when we safely reached
the territory of the Coorga Rajah, I felt my mind
much relieved, for, notwithstanding the joking
way in which the Colonel treated it, we should
most assuredly have been put to death ; and in that
case he would never have fought the Battle of
Waterloo, or I recounted my adventures.

Before I entirely take leave of this part of the
Malabar coast, I must relate an accident that hap-
pened to a man of the 77th Regiment. From the
confined nature of the ground, overrun with jungle,
it was difficult to find a vacant spot to pitch a tent,
and there was no regularity in the pitching of the
tents, officers' and privates' being close together.
One day I was in Colonel Harcourt*s tent, when J
a shot whizzed close by us. I ran out, thinking we
were surprised ; but on inquiry I found that the
armourers* forge of the 77th Regiment was pitched
together with a tent where some tailors of the same
regiment were at work close together. One of the
armourers had a pistol to repair for an officer, and
he, not aware that it was loaded, put it into the fire.
It exploded, and the ball entered the temple of an
unlucky tailor sitting at work in the next tent. It
went in at one temple and out at the opposite ; but
the poor tailor recovered from this extraordinary

ii8 ELERS MEMOIRS

wound, and I saw him alive and well six months
after, but with the loss of both his eyes.

On the night we arrived in the country of the
Coorga Rajah we were sitting drinking our wine
after dinner, congratulating ourselves that we had
arrived there, when, looking through the tent doors,
we saw the forest suddenly illuminated with torches,
and many men carrying all sorts of game on
bamboos. This was a present from the Rajah of
Coorg to Colonel Wellesley, giving him a very
small specimen of his day's sport, and hoping that
he would spend a few days with him, as he was
hunting his country. Among the specimens of the
game sent were eleven elephants' tails, cut off that
day; a large snake; a boa-constrictor, 16 feet in
length, lashed to a long bamboo, and carried by six
or seven coolies ; cheetahs, tigers, foxes, jackals,
etc., and three immense carp. The Rajah had
an annual hunt, and we happened to arrive on his
hunting day. He sent his salaam, and said he
should next day come and pay his respects to the
Colonel. The next morning he sent two of his
tents, and they were pitched close to ours. They
were red and green striped. He also sent chess
and backgammon boards of the handsomest sort,
inlaid with ebony and ivory, and the chessmen of
the finest kind, carved in ivory, with rose-water,
betel, etc.

The Rajah arrived soon after breakfast, preceded
by a guard of about one hundred men, clothed in

THE RAJAH OF COORG

1 19

green, and armed with bows and arrows^ the Rajah
himself mounted on a charger, with English boots
and pantaloons, the rest of his dress Eastern, He
was a man of middle age, and spoke a little English,
The two chiefs got off their horses, and immediately
embraced three distinct times. They then retired
to their tents and conversed in Persian, Major Ogg
acting as interpreter. In one part of the conversa-
tion I admired Colonel Wellesley s quickness in
detecting Major Ogg giving an erroneous inter-
pretation to a speech of his to the Rajah* The
Colonel was clever in quickly acquiring languages,
but spoke none very correctly, and I believe this
applies to his Spanish and Portuguese at the present
time. The poor Rajah urged that he had ever been
faithful to the English, his country and revenue
small, that the Company took from him by way of
kist 5,000 pagodas annually* and he wished the
Colonel to intercede for him with the Governor-
General to remit it altogether, which the Colonel,
to the great joy of the Rajah, promised to do* He
pressed the Colonel to spend a few days hunting
with him, but the Colonel told him he was most
anxious to arrive at Seringapatam, but he promised
him he would visit him at a more favourable
opportunity. They parted with mutual expressions
of goodwill and friendship, and Colonel Wellesley,
wishing to make him a present according to Eastern
custom, was much puzzled what to give him, not
being prepared. He gave him a handsome English

I20

ELERS MEMOIRS

rifle, which the Rajah was much pleased with, and
said would be of great use to him on his hunting
excursions.

Colonel Wellesley was so anxious to arrive at the
fort that the two or three last marches were so long
and rapid that my servants and baggage were left
behind, and I arrived at Seringapatam at the palace
of the Dowlet Bagh without a single suit of clean
clothes. He desired his head servant, an old]
fellow of the name of Vingetty, to give me whatever
of his clothes I wanted, such as shirts, trousers and
waistcoats, which fitted me very well* and, above
all, he ordered him to give me a good room and cot
to sleep on. It was a back-room, and looked into
the gardens of the palace. I was much pleased to
lie down and recover from the fatigue I had gone
through, for I was nearly knocked up from following
the great man in his rapid movements. When the
dinner-hour arrived he placed me on his left hand,
and said : * That is your place ;* and there I sat
every day for the next three months. We sat in
the centre of the table, his A.D.C., Captain West,
at the top of the table, and Captain Barclay, the
Deputy Adjutant- General, at the bottom. This
comprised the family, but there were always other
officers, guests, altogether from eight to a dozen,
every day. Colonel Wellesley kept a plain but
good table. He had a very good appetite, and his
favourite dish was a roast saddle of mutton and
salad. This dish was placed opposite to him, and

COLONEL WELLESLEY*S TABLE-TALK 121

tie generally made his dinner off it. He was very
I abstemious with wine ; drank four or five glasses
with people at dinner, and about a pint of claret
after. He was very even in his temper, laughing
and joking with those he liked, speaking in his quick
way, and dwelling particularly upon the few {at that
iimc) situations he had been placed in before the
enemy, the arrangements he had made, and their
fortunate results, all of which were applauded by his
staff, who had shared in the glory and peril This
generally formed the topic of conversation after
dinner. He was particularly severe upon any
neglect of the commissariat department, and openly
declared that, if he commanded an army, he should
not hesitate to hang a Commissary for any derelic-
tion of duty. He was very apprehensive of being
superseded in his command of Mysore ; and when a
General Frazer of the King's service had at that
time just landed in India, he was apprehensive he
might take his command from him. He said : * We
want no Major-Generals in Mysore/

I remember one day, on our march from Can-
nanore, he received an overland despatch from
England* The chief item of intelligence was that
the Earl of Mornington, then Marquess of Wellesley,
had received a pension of ^5,000 a year for his
services and judicious arrangements with respect to
the war with Tippoo Sahib. The next was a brevet
giving the old Colonels the step of Major-Generals.
He was all hope and animation. * Do you happen

122 ELERS MEMOIRS

to have an Army List, Elers ? I said * Yes,' and I
ran to my tent and fetched it for him, saying : * I
am sorr)' to tell you, Colonel, it does not include you
as a Major-General. You are within about five or
six of it/ He said sorrowfully : * My highest ambi-
tion is to be a Major-General in His Majesty's
service.' This was uttered to me in May, 1801.
Fourteen years afterwards he had fought the Battle
of Waterloo, conquered Bonaparte, was a Prince, a
Duke, a Knight of the Garter, Grand Cross of the
Bath, a Grandee of Spain, and a Grand Cross of,
I believe, every order of knighthood in Europe.
His humble friend, I, George Elers, at that time
took his hand and said to comfort him : * Never
mind, Colonel ; the next brevet must bring you in,
and in a few days you will have the command of
Seringapatam, where honour and wealth attend
on you r

A few days after our coming to Seringapatam
arrived rather a pretty and lively woman, a
Mrs. Stephenson, the wife of Colonel Stephenson,
awaiting her husband's arrival from the Cotiote
country. With his usual gallantry and politeness
to the fair, apartments were assigned to the lady by
the Colonel, and she made for some time a very
pleasant addition to our circle.

I used to go out sometimes with the Colonel
on his elephant. He had a very handsome how-
dah to it, and the elephant was entirely covered
over with superfine scarlet cloth, hanging within

CHEETAH HUNTING

123

two feet of the ground. ] think the howdah
was a present from Colonel Close, of the Com-
pany's service. When Colonel Wellesley was first
appointed to the command of Seringapatam, Tip-
poo Sahib's hunting establishment was found in
the fort, and the Colonel wrote to Government
about it. The Government did not wish to
be at the expense of keeping it up, and Colonel
Wellesley kept them at his own charge. They
consisted of several leopards and cheetahs, with
their keepers, regularly trained for the purpose of
hunting the antelope on the plains of Seringapatam,
It is very well to see it once, but it is poor sport.
The company go out on elephants and on horseback.
The cheetahs are placed with their keepers on what
are called hackerries, or small open carts drawn by
bullocks ; they are hoodwinked and ready to be
let slip when a herd of deer appear. The antelope
is a very shy animal, and will not allow you to
approach nearer than some two hundred yards. This
having been accomplished, the hackerries stop, and
the man takes the bandage off the cheetah's eyes.
He leaps like a cat upon the ground, and sinks down
upon his belly, wagging his taiL He fixes his eyes
upon one particular deer, steals along for thirty or
forty paces, and then crouches down. After doing
this two or three times the herd take themselves off
full gallop, all but one unfortunate* whose eyes have
been fascinated by the cheetah. He endeavours to
escape ; he makes a feeble effort, when the cheetah

124 ELERS MEMOIRS

in a few bounds overtakes him and fastens upon
him. The keeper runs up, throws the winkers over
the cheetah's eyes, and preserves the antelope from
being eaten up ; but life is extinct. He takes out
a knife, and, extracting the entrails, they are given
to the cheetah as a reward for his pains. All the
motions of a cheetah are exactly like those of a cat
upon a lawn springing after birds.

We had a billiard-table at the palace, and I used
to play sometimes with Captain West. I once
remember playing two games with Colonel Wellesley,
in both of which I beat him. We usied to get up
early in the morning and attend the garrison parade,
and Colonel Wellesley used, of course, to be saluted
by the Guards as they marched off. His dress at
this time consisted of a long coat, the uniform of the
33rd Regiment, a cocked hat^ white pantaloons,
Hessian boots and spurs, and a large sabre, the
handle solid silver, and the mounting of the
scabbard of the same metal, but all gilt. He never
wore powder, though it was at that time the regula-
tion to do so. His hair was cropped close. I have
heard him say he was convinced the wearing of hair
powder was very prejudicial to health as impeding
the perspiration, and he was doubtless right.

Major Woodall joined our regiment about this
time, bringing up with him a lady he had lately
married -} she was a Miss Cochrane, a natural

^ Janet, widow of Major Thomas Woodall, of the 1 2th Regi-
ment, married, June 8, 1807, Sir George Tuite, Bart

A COURT-MARTIAL

125

daughter of the Earl of Dundonald, and now married
to Sir George Tuite, Baronet.

About this time an unpleasant business took place
at Seringapatam, which obliged Colonel Wellesley
to act as prosecutor at a General Court-Martial
ordered to take place at Seringapatam upon three
officers of the artillery of the Company's Service —
viz., Lieutenant-Colonel Saxon, Lieutenant-Colonel
Mandeville, and Captain Macintire, I believe the
whole court-martial was composed of field oflicers
drawn from all parts of the coast. I remember one»
Colonel the Hon. G. St, John, and there were
some field officers of the 84th and 86th. It made
an addition to our dinner-table, but all the day the
Colonel was occupied from ten o'clock until four at
the court, and I saw little of him.

The trials lasted a month, and the Colonel
executed this unpleasant duty with all that tact and
judgment which has so much distinguished him in
after-times of much greater difficulty and importance.
The charges laid to these officers were peculation
and defrauding the Company at the arsenal of
bell metal, etc., to a large amount. They were all
sentenced to be dismissed the Service and sent home
immediately. 1 was very sorry for the fate of poor
old Saxon ; he had, I believe, risen from the
ranks. Poor devil ! he had dined at the Colonel's
table but a few days before he was put under
arrest, little thinking what was so soon to happen to
him. An officer by the name of F , of the

126 ELERS MEMOIRS

artillery, was appointed to Captain Macintire s post,
bringing with him a very young and rather pretty
woman for his wife. Colonel Wellesley had at that
time a very susceptible heart, particularly towards,
I am sorry to say, married ladies, and his pointed
attention to this lady gave offence to, not her
husband^ but to the. aide-de-camp, who considered
it highly immoral and indecorous, and a coolness
took place between West and the Colonel, and they
did not speak all the remaining time I lived with
the Colonel. Lady Tuite, then Mrs. Woodall,
interfered in the same officious way, which the
Colonel did not forget ; for in after-times, upon
meeting him at a large party, when she held out
her hand to shake hands with him, he put both his
hands behind his back and made her a low bow.

For my own part, I abhor the seduction of
innocent girls, and think it wrong to intrigue with
married women ; but if I witness anything going on
between two people, and the husband does not see
or choose to take notice of it, I think none but
a father or a brother has a right to interfere. You
are sure to get into a scrape and make enemies of
all parties. And as for Colonel Wellesley, he never
in these matters interfered with others, but, on the
contrary, once kindly assisted me in a little affair of
gallantry I had, but not with a married woman.
But this was in a spirit of gratitude, I having
assisted him on a like occasion. The Colonel, in
after-life, proved most grateful to the lady, and
provided by his interest for some of her children.

CHAPTER IX

A riding wager — Trichinopoli — Racing — A duel — Gets his
captai DC y— Losses in the Funds — Colonel Brown — Pondi-
cherri^Adventure with a cobra.

Having lived with the Colonel for about three
months, and my regiment having established a good
mess in the fort, I told him that if he would provide
me with a good house I would not trespass on his
hospitality farther. He gave me a good quarter,
consisting of three rooms and offices for my servants
and stables for my horses. I used to wait upon him I
occasionally with the report of the main guard, and
at other times used to go uninvited to breakfast with
him, when he invariably said, in his quick way :
' Elers, will you dine here to-day ?' I am sure he
could not say I ever refused him.

About this time, September, 1801, my friends
Colonel Harcourt and Captain Crawford procured
permission to visit Calcuttaj the former to see his
old friend the Marquess of Wellesley, and Captain
Crawford on a trip of pleasure and curiosity. The
Colonel had left the regiment but a short time when,
about the beginning of October, we received orders
to proceed to the Carnatic, to a station called

[ ml

128

ELERS MEMOIRS

Trichinopoli, about two hundred miles south of
Madras. Just previously to this I sold Colonel
Wellesley the curricle Colonel Harcourt brought
from England, and he was quite pleased with his
purchase. He soon got a pair of horses to run in
it. He said it was a much safer conveyance than a
buggy, for where two horses could go, the wheels
could follow. One night at the mess, just before we
left Seringapatam, the conversation turned upon the
powers of English horses on long journeys. I said
I could ride my Arab horse fifty miles for three days
in succession, even in that climate. My friend Sale
offered to bet me 500 pagodas I could not do it.
I laid the wager» and was to do it exactly one
week after our arrival at Trichinopoli. Having
made the wager this way, I made it very much
against myself; but I finally overcame all difficulties.
and won my wager with great ease. In the first
place, it was the very height of the monsoon, raining
sheets of water. I took my horse under the cover
of my own tent during the night, and in the day he
was, like his master, obliged to rough it. The pass —
that is, the descent from the Ghauts down into the
Carnatic — was full of sharp rocks, and there was
great danger of laming my horse, besides either of
us falling sick. However, we arrived all safe, and 1
got a piece of ground marked out all round a most
extensive cantonment, measuring exactly six miles,
and had my grooms ready to rub down, with water,
etc.» all ready, and I started one morning at one a.m.

TRICHINOPOLl

129

and finished my first fifty miles with ease by five
o'clock in the afternoon. In short, I completed my
task with great ease and won my wagen

On arriving at Trichinopoli, which is situated at
the foot of an immense rock, we were placed in
cantonments about a mile from the fort, at a place
called Warriore. I found Major Picton here with
the three companies that had been on service to the
southward among the refractory Polygars, and also
the two companies that had been to sea, to the east-
ward, where they had gone as far as Batavia, We
were all very happy to see each other again.

About this time I heard from Colonel Harcourt,
who said that he and Crawford were well and very
happy, and were living with the Governor-General ;
they were then to take a trip up the country, many
hundred miles from Calcutta, visiting the upper
provinces of Bengal. Major-General Brydges,
a Company's officer commanding the Southern
Division of the army, lived in the vicinity of
Trichinopoli ; also an old gentleman of the name
of Darke, formerly vtry rich, and to whom the
Nabob of Arcot was indebted for many lakhs of
rupees. He had one only daughter,^ married to
General Floyd, who had been long stationed here
in command of the 19th Light Dragoons. By this
lady he had Julia, married to the great statesman,
the present Sir Robert Peel, Bart. Captain Prescot,

^ Rebecca Juliana, daughler of Charles Darke of Madras.
Manied, January 29, i77i» Sir John Floyd, Bart

I30 ELERS MEMOIRS

of the Artillery ; William Hawkins, Esq., of the
Civil Service ; Colonel Browne, the officer command-
ing the detachment proceeding to Seringapatam ;
Major Lennon and wife ; Wallace and wife, a French
lady, the former a civilian ; and Mr. Irwin and lady,
his assistant, besides several other officers and their
ladies, so that we had a very good society, and used
to get up subscription balls that were very well
attended. But our grand effort was establishing
some subscription races, and Captain Laing, of the
Company's service, and Lieutenant King, of ours,
were the chief promoters of some races here that
would have done credit to any town in England.
The General commanding set a good example by
his liberal subscription, as also Mr. Hawkins, and
all the officers composing the garrison. We collected
a sum sufficient to give amusement for three days,
with public breakfasts, ball, etc.

The first day a plate of ;^ioo was run for between
Captain Laing's bay Arab, Little Jem ; Mr. Irwin's
Dragon, a bay Arab ; and Lieutenant Elers' gray
Arab, Aboukir — two-mile heats. This was allowed
to be one of the finest races ever run. I rode my
favourite gray, and had never ridden a regular race
before. The other two horses were ridden by men
of the regiment who had been professed jockeys.
The first heat I lost by not more than a head, and
the second heat I won by the same distance. These
heats were contested with Little Jem. The third
horse, Mr. Irwin's, had no chance. Everyone

HORSE-RACING

thought I was certain of winning. But I was very
much exhausted, for my horse evinced, particularly
in the second heat, a disposition to bolt, and I could
scarcely keep him on the course, particularly within
a few hundred yards of the winning-post, which was
the more provoking.

We went off for the third heat, and I evidendy
had it all my own way until I came to a certain spot ;
1 was at least six or seven lengths before Little Jem
when my hands got cramped, my reins relaxed, and
my horse swerved from the course, and Little Jem,
I had the mortification to see, passed me in a canter
and won the race. The owner of the third horse.
Dragon^ who, I believe, was distanced the second heat,
came up to me and gave me a challenge to run the
next day for a thousand pagodas, and said he merely
lost the race by the badness of his jockey* I said
* Done !' and it was settled to be run the next day.
I well knew the great superiority of my horse, and
that I only lost the race from the cramp I got in my
hand. But to make this race certain I went immedi-
ately to the man who rode Little Jem, and secured
him to ride for me*

The next day, just as the horses were saddling,
Mr. Irwin began to quake, and he begged me to let
the stake be only for one-half of the original bet I
did not like to take any advantage, and consented,
I won the race with the greatest ease ; and on the
third day I won with the same horse a handsome
cup of ^50, which I brought to the mess. It held

9—2

132

ELERS MEMOIRS

eight quart bottles. It was emptied several times
on that night in honour of Aboukir.

After the races we had an elegant breakfast, and
afterwards dancing ; and we had amusements for
the men, such as jumping in sacks and running
after a pig with his tail soaped. And on the
retirement of the ladies we concluded the sports of
the day with chicken hazard, I won more rupees
that day than I could well carry home^ but which, as
I recollect, I contrived to do, walking in the heat of
the sun, as I had no conveyance. This was the
happiest week I ever passed in India; everything
seemed to prosper with me. I lived in the same
quarter with Colonel Picton, and used always to
breakfast with him. In the middle of the day we
used to drive to the fort of TrichinopoH, where
Mr. Hawkins had a capital house, a good billiard-
table, good tiffins, and the house always full of
pleasant people. Among others was a worthy old
man by name Peter Key ; he was a gray-headed,
retired old Captain of Native Infantry. He came
out for the second time with us in the same fleet,
and used to call us *his boys.' He lived a great
deal with Mr. Hawkins, Mr. H. was a good man,
a great oddity, but much respected. He was an
Irishman^ and a brother to Admiral Whitshed, and
son to the late Bishop of Raphoe,

About this time an unpleasant affair took place
between Assistant- Surgeon Washington Price and
Captain Nixon, arising from a quarrel which took

A DUEL

^33

place some months before at Seringapatam* Nixon
came to me and borrowed my pistols, the brace that
were Colonel Aston's. Mn Price and he met, and
Captain Nixon's shot took effect in the fleshy part
of Price's hand, hit the stock of his pistol, and the
ball lodged near the top of the arm and was cut out
directly. And there the business ended. Captain
Nixon soon after obtained leave and went home.

We had not been at Warriore above six months
when the regiment was moved to the barracks and
cantonments formerly occupied by the 19th Light
Dragoons on Trichinopoli plain, a short distance
only from Warriore. There were no barracks for
the officers^ but they hVed in detached bungalows
wherever they could get them. Mr. Hawkins lent
'me a capital house and gardens of his called Belfont,
something more than a quarter of a mile from the
barracks and the same distance from the mess-room.
But I had plenty of horses and a chaise* I think I
had five horses at this time. One of them was a
Pegu pony, black as jet, the most beautiful creature
I ever saw. He was one of three that Major
Woodall brought from Pegu with him. He cost me
a large price. 1 used always to ride him to parade^
and at night he was always sent for me to the mess-
room to bring me home.

About this time poor Major Woodall left us sick
for Madras. 1 bought a very pretty portable library
from him, consisting of Bell's Plays and others,
about sixty or seventy volumes, enclosed in wooden

134 ELERS MEMOIRS

cases, with locks and keys, that shut up for travelling,
besides a good deal of furniture, etc. Poor fellow !
he died shortly after at Madras.

About this time (June, 1802) I received a letter
from Colonel Harcourt, telling me he was on his way
overland to England with despatches of great im-
portance from the Governor-General, and that I
should see him back very shortly. He went, and
did not remain in England more than three weeks.
It was about three months after this that I received
a kind letter from Colonel Wellesley^ to say he had
written to Mr. North, the Governor of Ceylon, to
procure me a company in some Malay corps raised
for His Majesty's service in the island of Ceylon,
but that he had not received any answer. Colonel
Wellesley strongly recommended me to apply to my
friend Colonel Harcourt to use his influence with
the Governor-General for that purpose. I think
there was a coolness between Colonel Wellesley and
his brother the Marquess at that time, or I think he
would have applied to him himself in my favour.

Soon after this Major Picton, as commanding
officer, received the intelligence that Captain Hast-
ings Frazer had got promoted out of our regiment
at home, and that his company was for sale. At
this time I had three or four Lieutenants senior to
me, among others one of the name of Cavendish, a
distant relation of the Duke of Devonshire, and a
connection of Lord William Bentinck, the Governor
* See p. 270. — Ed.

PROMOTED CAPTAIN

'35

of Madras. Poor Cavendish went down to Madras
and endeavoured to interest his lordship in his
favour, but without success. I cannot account for
it, for Lord William I ever found very kind and
obliging to me as far as hospitality went. However,
this company was kept vacant for some months to
give Cavendish the chance of procuring the money,
which was not acting fairly towards me, as I ought
to have been a Captain of the early part of 1802
instead of May, 1803, I should have got the rank
of a Brevet-Major before I quitted the Service if I
had been a captain of 1802, Major Pic ton at length
was obliged to forward my name to General Lake
on May 6, 1803, for my promotion to the vacant
company. At this time the Bengal army, under
General Lake, was most actively employed in the
great Mahratta war against Holkar, while General
Wellesley was as much engaged against the other
chieftain Scindiah, in the north-west part of India.
General Lake was so much engaged that from the
time my recommendation went off, the first week in
May, we had no promotions published until the last
week in November, when at length, to my great
joy, I found myself in orders as a Captain in the
1 2th Regiment.

I had reduced my little fortune very considerably,
when I gave Mr. Hutchinson the most positive
orders to sell out of the Funds all the stock I had in
the three per cents. 1 think it was just previous to
the peace, or perhaps just after war was again

136

ELERS MEMOIRS

declared^ and when the people were threatened with
invasion. However, the stocks, the three per cents,
were down to 48* and I believe they never were
lower, and this reduced my little fortune nearly one-
half. So I was determined, directly my recom-
mendation went off for my promotion, that I would
live with the greatest economy. I sold off my stud,
in the first place, buggy, horse and harness, and dis-
charged my Hookah Bedar, and lived very quietly
at the mess, I still kept up a good tiffin and plenty
of negus, called sangaree, for any officers that would
call upon me. In the course of seven months I had
saved considerably more than two hundred pounds,
and continued to do so for some time.

I asked leave to visit the coast about this time,
and I went to Negapatam, and on my return called
for a few days on a Captain Blackburne, the military!
resident at Tanjore. He had a good billiard-table,
and played well. I found a Brahmin here who
professed to paint miniatures, and I sat to him» and
sent home the picture and a gold rrichinopoli chain
as a present to my cousin. Mrs. Tennant But she
valued neither — the picture she gave to one of th«
Miss Hutchinsons, and the gold chain she gave to
the Hon. Mrs. Tennant, Colonel Brown was so
kind as to take charge of these things, and had the
miniature very handsomely mounted on his arrival
in England. Colonel Archibald Brown was a
singular man. He was a Scotchman ; a fine, military
figure, six feet high, very rich, very generous, very

COLONEL ARCHIBALD BROWN 137

friendly, even to excess with his purse. He never
stirred out of his fine large quarter, and saw very
little company ; but kept a good table, and he took a
great fancy to me — perhaps it was partly on account
of our going up together to the siege of Seringa*
patam. However, he was always delighted when I
called upon him, but most particularly so when I
would leave my own mess and call to dine with him,
uninvited. We always dined tHe-d-icte, when we
had our cool bottle of claret, and he used to enter-
tain me with his early adventures in India, the wars
of Sir EyreCoote, the defeat of Baillies detachment,
and the wars of Lord Cornwallis, Among his other
military stories was one that took place about the
year 1 795. He commanded a force that took a small
Dutch settlement to the eastward. The Governor,
a Dutchman, invited him to come and live with him
and his family. He contracted a friendship with this
man ; and lent him a considerable sum of money to
pursue some mercantile speculation, which did not
prove fijrtunate- The merchant when he borrowed
the money gave the Colonel his bond for it. The
poor merchant suffered much unhappiness at the
debt he had incurred with Colonel Brown, and the
little prospect he had of redeeming his bond.
Colonel Brown, in the most generous way» said :
* My dear friend, do not make yourself uneasy.
Here is the bond, I will now destroy it. If you
are ever able to discharge it. do so. If not, I shall
never ask you,* There was another instance of his

138 ELERS MEMOIRS

generous nature. Mr. Hawkins was once regretting
his improvidence in his earlier career, which pre-
vented him from returning home as others did with
an independence. * My dear Hawkins, share with
me what I have got. I have enough for both of us.'
So said this generous, excellent man Colonel Brown.
I always felt happy in his society. His sentiments
were so noble and chivalrous, they quite inspired one
to emulate them. Colonel Brown returned home
about the latter end of the year 1802, and when I
returned in 1806 I found him Hying in a good house
in Sackville Street. When Colonel Brown left me
in India I lost a sincere and kind friend, whose
memory I shall ever honour. He died at his house
in Curzon Street at an advanced age, leaving a
sister and a nephew of the name of Knox, in a house
of agency at Madras, the heir (stc) to his fortune.

In May, 1803^ I obtained leave of absence to visit
Madras. I went in a palanquin, and visited Pondi-
cherri on my way down, and put up at the commanding
officer's house, Colonel Keith, a widower with one
daughter, a lovely girl of about eighteen. I remained
there one night and went to a ball. Colonel Keith
gave me news of my elder brother, then a Captain
in the 43rd Regiment. I believe he knew my
brother in the West Indies. The journey down to
Madras, a distance of two hundred miles, appeared
very tedious ; and as I had but one set of bearers to
my palanquin, I was many days on the way. At last
I arrived at Madras, and after reporting myself at

^50.ooo AT PIQUET

139

the Adjutant - Generars office I waited on the
Governor, Lord William Ben ti nek, lately arrived
from England, My reception was very kind, and
he asked me to come and dine with him the next
day. I was introduced to Lady William and her
brother, the Honourable Edward Acheson and
Colonel Monckton, the two aides-de-camp of Lord
William. I remember we had some of the finest
Hermitage I ever drank. I went out to St, Thom^»
and lived at the garden house of Captain Kerby
Dalrymple^ where his brotherp Captain D. of the
19th Regiment, was also living, Kerby Dalrymple
was one of the Seringapatam prize agents, had sold
out of the army, and had turned merchant. He
kept his carriage, a postchaise, and lived very hand-
somely. When I was not engaged playing piquet
with his brother, 1 used to go with Kerby to the fort
in his carriage^ and return in the evening. Captain
Hugh Dalrymple was at that time a very fine player
at this game, and I was a pupil of Major Picton's,
with whom I used often to play from morning until
night. Major Picton used to play whist and piquet
for very large sums and with great success. This
Hugh Dalrymple some years after arrived in
England, and at Graham's Club he used to play
with the celebrated Major Aubrey. The present
Marquess of Hertford matched Didrymple against
Aubrey, and won of Aubrey j^40.ooo and
Dalrymple won of Aubrey ^10,000. It is not
to be wondered that Dalrymple beat me, but I

ELERS MEMOIRS

lost only a very trifling sum to him. With the
regiment I used to play pools with Colonel Picton
and Captain Crawford for small stakes. So I was
in very good practice, and was a tolerable match for
most players— that is to say for those who were not
regular blacklegs. I returned to my regiment, and
brought up with me a very handsome buggy and
beautiful dun pony to run in it.

Soon after my arrival , one night on returning from
the mess, on getting into bed I had occasion to go
into the garden. My servant Francis said : * Pray
stopi massa. Let me get lanthorn. Sometime bad
snake bite massa.' I paid no attention to this
prudent advice, and as I opened the door Francis
put the lanthorn into my hand, by the light of
which I saw, curled round the seat, an enormous
cobra de capello. I instantly shut the door, loaded
my gun, and on opening the door gently, he was laid
coiled up in one comer. I shot at him and nearly
cut him in two» and he gave a loud hiss and sprang
out between me and Francis^ and with l^ge bamboos
we despatched him. The next morning I cut off his
head, and by way of experiment placed the leg of a
live chicken between his jaws, and compressing them,
inserted the fangs in the fleshy part of the chicken s
thigh. The poor chicken did not live three minutes
after. There never was a spot more likely for
snakes than this garden, it was so luxuriant in
vegetation, being well watered from a neighbouring
spring. I had a most narrow escape of my life.

n -tit Ji

COLONEL PATER 141

On the departure of General Brydges for England,
the command of the Southern Division of the army
devolved upon a Colonel Pater, a very good-natured
but enormously fat man, of the cavalry. He and
Colonel Picton were great friends. I recollect his
orders were couched in the most ridiculous inflated
language that made us all laugh.

CHAPTER X

Athletics — Pet tiger and alligator — Colonel Wellesley*s terrier —
Bhil robbers — A servant's honesty — By sea to Vizagapatam —
Fight between the Centurion and French frigates — Colonel
Harcourt at Cuttack — Chicken hazard — Juggernaut —
Calcutta — Lord Wellesley — A billiard match — Tigers on
Sangor Island — Back to Madras — Atrocity at Travancore —
Lord Lake's siege of Bhurtpore — General Wellesley's K.C.B.
— The Duke of Clarence and Mr. Calcraft — Aston at
Ranelagh — ^Aston's duel with Sumner — Surcouflf.

About July, 1804, I received a letter from Colonel
Harcourt, giving me an invitation to come and pay
him a visit at Cuttack. He had been some time
before appointed secretary to the Governor-General,
when he was appointed to the command of about
five thousand men sent against this country, lying
about three hundred miles to the southward of
Calcutta towards the Carnatic. He had built a
good house at Cuttack, and was established there
with a Staff and everything comfortable about him,
and desired me to get six months' leave of absence
and join him, when he would give me an Arabian
horse to ride and furnish me with a hookah to smoke,
which we were both very fond of. After procuring
my leave of absence, I began to make preparations

[142]

A HOPEFUL YOUTH

by selling off my horses, buggy, furniture, hookah,
books, only reserving a small quantity of plate, which
I unfortunately took to Madras with me. I say un-
fortunately, because I lost it (the plate) through
doing a kind action. I lent it to a Captain of our
regiment who^ with his wife^ had just arrived from
England. He died a few months after, and his widow
would not return it to me or pay me for it, and I had
no acknowledgment to say it was lent and was to be
returned. But she was not a lady, and was only
living with him as his mistress. I also lost a new
tent. I left it with the regiment, and Colonel
Forsteen, at that time only a Captain, bought it, and
placed the money in the paymaster s hands, a Lieu-
tenant J agger. He died, and I lost this also. I
forgot to mention that when I sold off my stud the
first time upon resolving to save all I could, a young,
■dashing civilian, a sad, wild young Irish boy, and a
natural son of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, came
into my stable and wanted to purchase the whole loL
I sold him two horses, and my favourite Arab
horse, Aboukir, was one. I got his note of hand
for 500 pagodas for them, which I never should
have got but through a rich black man, who, to get
'master's favour/ as they say, cashed the bills.
This hopeful youth s name was Ellis, and he died
some years after a great deal in debt.

I felt very sorry to leave the regiment, I felt a
certain presentiment that I never should see it or the
officers again. I loved the old regiment and many

144 ELERS MEMOIRS

of the men. I used to practise manly games with
them in the heat of the sun, particularly the game of
cricket, quoits, and a game called long bullets. At
the latter game Sale could beat me. but at quoits
there were only two men in the raiment could beat
me, and they belonged to my own company — Sharpe,
a Yorkshire man, and Ostler, an Essex man, who
taught me, and also the art of swimming. I was in
those days very active, and few could beat me at
leaping, either over a garter or in distance. I could
leap both backwards and forwards eighteen feet,
when to my utter astonishment a man, by name
Burchinhoff, of my company, beat me by five feet.

Among other little pets I kept was a small tiger,
which I had as soon as it could see. I remember it
had a most unpleasant smell, rolling among the
carrion its dam brought into its lair. I had also a
small alligator, not more than a foot long. But of
all my pets, my favourite was the most beautiful
terrier I ever saw. He was small, jet black-and-tan,
with a little white on his breast. I gave him the
name of Jack, after the name of a very great pet and
favourite of Colonel Wellesley's, a terrier who once
followed Colonel Wellesley to Chitteldroog from
Seringapatam, a distance of more than a hundred
miles. When the Colonel arrived at the foot of
Chitteldroog, they fired a salute in compliment to
him. The dog was frightened, and ran away, and
the Colonel gave him up for lost. A few days after
he received a letter from Seringapatam to say that

BHIL ROBBERS

the dog had found his way back. In India there
are no beaten tracks or roads, which renders it the
more extraordinary. This little dog of mine accom-
panied me by sea and land to Calcutta and back
to Madras.

Trichinopoli has ever been famous for robberies
committed by a set of thieves living in the hills,
called Bhils. These robberies were of the most im-
pudent and daring description. They strip them-
selves entirely naked and oil themselves all over ; so
if they are caught they slip through your fingers like
an eel, and so make their escape. A report was
current that they entered the barracks where the
19th Light Dragoons lay one night and stole all
their pistols, sabres; etc., when the men were asleep.
We had not been in these quarters long when
scarcely a night passed upon which they did not pay
us a visit. They came to my stable and took a new
saddle. It was bound round with a metal resem-
bling silver upon the cantel of the saddle. They
tore this off, and considerably damaged the saddle in
doing so. I recovered the saddle. They had thrown
it away among some rocks. They seldom came into
the quarters in the night, but about two hours before
daybreak, as they conclude people are generally
sounder asleep at that time. Dr. Campbell one
night was determined not to go to sleep all night,
and having loaded his pistols, laid them on the chair
by the bedside. At their usual hour they paid the
doctor a visit. Two of them came into the bedroom,

14^

ELERS MEMOIRS

and the doctor began to snore, pretending to be fast
asleep. They* thinking this was so, began to ex-
amine the combs» razors, brushes, etc., very coolly,
and after they had gratified their curiosity one of
them took up a light trunk, put it on his head, and
leisurely walked out of the room with it His com-
panion got another trunk, pot it on his head, and
followed. Dr. Campbell then jumped out of bed,
and as the poor wretch was running away fired at
him at the distance of a few paces. The ball entered
his back and came out at his breast. After this he
ran off so strong that Campbell thought he had not
hit him. At last he fell, 1 saw him groaning and
lamenting, lying under the shade of a milk hedge*
crying out to us most piteously to cure him, and he
would show us where all the thieves were and deliver
up all the plunder. He did not die till sunseL
After that we had no more robberies.

While I was in the Mysore country I had a large
sum of money belonging to the men of my company,
1 had it in a trunk, and gave it and the key to my
head servant. One day the servant was not to be
found ; he had been tired of long marches and a
camp life, and had fairly run off. I, of course, gave
up all thoughts of finding my money ; he had taken
the keys with him, and 1 was obliged to have the
trunk broken open, and to my great joy the money
was all safe. It was considerably more than a
hundred pounds. The man thought that if he left
the keys, a common and universal practice when a

-'-' ^ ^

A FAITHFUL SERVANT

147

servant runs away, they might fall into bad hands,
and I should have been plundered, and he would
have had the credit of having robbed me. The
native servants are generally great thieves, although
some are as remarkable for their strict honesty and
fidelity. It was my good fortune to possess one of
the latter. He came to me to be hired while I was
living with Colonel Wellesley. He was a Portu-
guese Christian by the name of Francis. He was
an ugly man» and I told him so. He said : * Massa
must not mind ugly face ; I got good heart, and will
serve massa faithfully.' I took him, and he lived
with me until I went on board the ship that carried
me to England. On the deck of that ship, the
Hawkesbury, he said with the tears in his eyes :
* Massa, if I had not wife and children, I never
would leave massa, but go England with massa,'
He was the best of servants, so clever, so faithful,
and so honest. He understood the dressing of a
hookah, and dressed mine for some years. I made
him a present of my hookah among other things
when 1 left India. He understood the care of
horses, and was also a good cook. I n short, he was
as a servant quite invaluable,

I shall now, after this long digression, resume my
narrative.

I took leave of ray regiment at Trichinopoli on
August 6, 1804, and proceeded in a palanquin to
Madras. I took a passage in the Princess Charlotte^
East Indiaman (the same ship that brought Colonel

10 — 2

148 ELERS MEMOIRS

Wellesley from the Cape) to Vizagapatam, laden
with I know not what cargo ; but she was proceed-
ing to that place for the purpose of bringing down
bales of longcloth to Madras, and we were to be con-
voyed by the Wilhelmina, of i8 guns, under the
gallant Captain Lambert. The Wilhelmina could
only have protected us against privateers, which
swarmed between Madras and Bengal. It was very
lucky for us that we did not meet with Admiral
Linois, who, in the Marengo, of 84 guns, and two
heavy French frigates, was cruising about for
plunder, and arrived at Vizagapatam two or three
days after I had safely landed at that station, and
Captain Lambert, having safely conducted the
Princess Charlotte to Vizagapatam, had started upon
another cruise. Colonel Alexander Campbell, of the
74th Regiment, was the commanding officer of this
station, and I lived at his house. I had been there
about two days, when the Centurion, of 50 guns,
arrived for the purpose of protecting the Princess
Charlotte with a valuable cargo of cloth for Madras.

The Centurion was at Madras, commanded by
Captain Spratt Rainier, the Admiral's nephew ; he
was, unluckily for him, left sick at Madras, and Com-
mander Lind took the ship in charge on this occasion.
I remember Captain Lind, who was an ugly little
old-fashioned fellow of about fifty, dining with us on
the day he arrived with his purser and one of his
Lieutenants.

According to my usual custom, I was up by day-

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT

149

ight, and, looking seaward, I saw three large ships,
hull down, standing in to the bay. Captain Lind
with his purser had slept at the house of the
Honourable Alexander Murray, of the Civil Service,
and after reporting what I saw to Colonel Campbell, I
went to Mr, Murray, who with his wife and Captain
Lind were at breakfast. Mr, Murray's house
was situated very high above sea-level, and com-
manded the view of the whole bay, I lold Captain
Lind of the ships, and he got up from the table and
looked at them through a glass. He said he could
not make out what they were, but thought they
looked very suspicious. He begged Mr Murray to
lend him his carriage to convey him to the beach.
After he was gone about half an hour, the ships
were getting very close to the Centurion. They
approached one after the other, the two frigates first,
when the first French frigate, running close alongside,
discharged her guns at the Centurion, and I dis-
tinctly saw her boats that were lashed upon her
quarter Hy up like chips. The Centurion soon got
up her anchor, and we distinctly heard the cheers of
the British sailors as they continued to pour their
broadsides into the two French frigates. The
Centurion stood out to sea, engaging the two frigates
at the same time. At this crisis we saw the Cen-
turion tack and stand inshore. The purser and
myself naturally concluded the Centurion would run
ashore to prevent her falling into the hands of the
enemy. He began to cut his capers about the room,

I50 ELERS MEMOIRS

and said he was a ruined man, all his hard earnings
lost When the Centurion was standing inshore,
we saw Captain Lind under a heavy fire in a small
boat get on board, and instead of running the ship
ashore, which we every minute expected, he let his
anchor go with springs on his cable close inshore.
The French frigates also came to an anchor, but at
a long and cautious distance, one on the quarter, the
Marengo amidships, and the other frigate ahead.
Many of the shot went over the Centurion, and were
found up the country. I saw many heavy shot of
68 pounds that were afterwards brought in. Soon
after they took up this position they sent their
boats and took possession of the Princess Charlotte.
A country ship called the Bumaiy ran ashore, and
soon went to pieces in the surf. Soon after the
action commenced, I ran down to the beach and
offered my humble services to Colonel Campbell.
He gave me the command of two 12-pounders,
with some invalid artillerymen to serve them.
When the French took possession of the Indiaman
some of the carpenters were on board the Indiaman
belonging to the Centurion, who had gone to do
some work early in the morning ; and instead of
going on board again they pulled ashore, giving as
an excuse that they were afraid of being taken
prisoners. Colonel Campbell ordered me to take
these carpenters back to the Centurion, and to take
charge of his son, who was to go with me on this
service. We got on board the Centurion, and the

EFFECTS OF THE ACTION

151

first person I saw was Captain Lind, his face black
with powder and his shirt-sIeeves tucked up, in a
most prodigious heat. He said he was very glad to
get his carpenters back, for the ship was making
large quantities of water, and their pumps were all
at work, I saw the deck torn up with grape, and
two ports on the larboard quarter knocked into one,
and all their boats destroyed. I saw the mouth of one
of the guns half taken off, which, on the ship rolling,
sent it through the deck, and it came out between the
legs of one of the men who was steering at the com-
mencement of the action. One of the little middies
showed me an escape he had by a round shot carrying
away part of his jacket. I saw several large trunks
of clothes destroyed by the shot. At length, having
executed my orders and gratified my curiosity^ I
asked the Captain if he had any further orders for
me, when I took my leave. I went on shore, and
the French squadron with their prize stood out to
sea soon after I left the Centurion. Considering the
long time the Centurion was under fire her loss was
very trifling. I have often thought that when
Colonel Campbell wrote his despatch to the Madras
Government he might have mentioned my name as
having volunteered my humble services to him.
For I was merely a visitor on leave of absence, and
had no occasion to do what I did. Captain Lind got
his post rank and was made a C.B., and afterwards
knighted, and his first Lieutenant a Commander.
The Centurion was obliged to go to Bombay to be

152 ELERS MEMOIRS

repaired, but not into dry dock. She soon after-
wards proceeded to England, where she went under
thorough repair ; a 68-pound shot was found buried
under her counter. If this shot had rolled out at
sea, she would have gone down stern foremost.

I proceeded the rest of my journey, about two
hundred miles, in a palanquin, stopping at the house
of a Mr. Carr, a civilian at Balasorc, where I stayed
one night. There I saw a beautiful woman, the
daughter of Mr. Rock, who was married to my old
school-fellow Henry Parry, living with Mr. Carr.
She was very lovely and accomplished, but her
mother was a native woman. I regretted this for
the sake of Parry at the time, and I still more regret
It now, having since renewed my acquaintance with
him, and knowing his kind and affectionate disposi-
tion. He has since united himself with an amiable
woman, with whom he lives very happily.

I at length joined Colonel Harcourt, who received
me with the greatest kindness. He had built a large
house and kept many servants, some of whom were
in scarlet and gold with scarlet turbans, who, bearing
large silver sticks, formed a lane upon all occasions
of ceremony, particularly when we proceeded every
day to dinner. I was quite astonished, not having
seen anything of the kind all the time I was in
India ; but when I arrived at the Government
House at Calcutta, I saw exactly the same thing.
So that this was adopting Lord Wellesley's princely
style of living. I was introduced to all his Staff,

WITH COLONEL HARCOURT

153

consisting of Lieutenant Ashe, his A.D.C ; Major
Andrews, Brigade Major ; Mr. Fortescue, a civilian,
a cousin of Lord Wetlesley s : Mr. Mclnnis, Persian
interpreter ; and Major Brown of Calcutta, command-
ing a small detachment of cavalry raised and formed
by himself, something on the plan of our volunteers ;
and, lastly, a Mr, Blunt of the Bengal Infantry, and
Baron Kutzleben* (a relation or connection of the
present Lord Wrottesley), who was the junior A, DX.
This was our family » and we always had besides
many officers of the fort and civilians to dine with us,
together with their ladies, and we used sometimes to
have a balL We used to get up every morning by
gun 'fire and ride until the hour of breakfast.
Colonel Harcourt gave me an Arab horse, but I did
not much like him, and also a hookah and a Hookah
Breda. Both the Colonel and myself were very
fond of smoking ; the perfume is delicious, and very
different from the horrid, vulgar smell of a pipe
of common tobacco, which I abominate, I am not
very fond of cigars, even when they are good, which
at present is by no means common. More than
one- half are spurious.

I here formed an intimacy with an old Bengal
civilian, a Mr. Melville, and I renewed this intimacy
afterwards in England ; also with Mr. Grame,
another civilian, I used to be very fond of riding a

> Son of Christian, Baron of Kut^leben, Minister to the Land-
grave of Hesse Cassel, married, 1780, Dorothy, daughter of Rev.
Sir Richard VVrottesley, Bart,, grandfather of the first Lord
Wrottesley,

154 ELERS MEMOIRS

black horse of Mr. Fortescue's, one that he used to
hunt the wild hog with. He was exactly like an
English horse, and formerly belonged to Lord Lake
as a charger, and was ridden by him at the battle of
Lasswarry. Fortescue was a good horseman and
very fond of spearing the wild hog, and was quite
an adept at the sport. I used sometimes to ride
with Colonel Harcourt upon his elephant, which is
not a very pleasant conveyance ; the motion is very
fatiguing. The country about the fort of Barabetty,
which was taken by assault by Colonel Harcourt a
short time before I came, is very luxuriant, abound-
ing in rich pasture-land and very pleasant to ride
upon on account of its turf

One day after tiffin Major Andrews and the
Baron proposed to me to play chicken hazard. I
consented ; I won of both of them a considerable sum
of money, for which I was very sorry, particularly for
poor Kutzleben, who was four or five years younger
than myself and a protdgd of Colonel Harcourt's.
But I was not to blame, as they both teased me to
play ; and beginning to play only for a mere trifle,
which they lost, and they both wishing to get back
that little, and I not wishing to win their money,
we played double or quits, till they lost, Kutzleben
;^300 and Major Andrews ;^250. I told them to
pay me whenever they pleased, and they gave me
their bills in England for the sums, which were duly
honoured on my arrival there.

On my route up to Cuttack I saw the celebrated

JUGGERNAUT

'$5

Pagoda of Juggernaut, whither the Hindoos are in
the habit of taking long pilgrimages from the
remotest parts of India to pay their devotions to the
idol and to procure holy water. They are some-
times two years and upwards on these journeys.
There are poor, devoted religious enthusiasts at this
place who undergo various self-inflicted punishments
to propitiate their gods, such as smearing themselves
all over with honey and partly burying themselves in
the earth to be eaten up by the flies. Others will
make a vow to raise their hand clenched above the
head and never to hold it down again. I have seen
one of these men, his arm entirely withered away,
nothing but the muscle and bone appearing, and the
nails having in the course of years forced themselves
through his hands and appearing out at the back of
his hands, several inches through : and they looked
like the large claws of a hawk, only larger Others
will throw themselves down under the wheels of
carriages, particularly of an enormous high one con-
taining their idols ; this immense carriage, twenty to
thirty feet in height, is drawn by hundreds of the
natives in religious procession, and some of these
fanatics will throw themselves under the wheels of
this high carriage for the purpose of being crushed
to death, while others will bury themselves alive to
secure their salvation.

Having spent upwards of two months with my
friend Colonel Harcourt, I proposed to visit Calcutta,
and return from that city by sea to Madras. Major

156 ELERS MEMOIRS

Brown, who lived in the Writers' Buildings, was about
to proceed there, and gave me an invitation to come
and live with him. Colonel Harcourt gave me letters
to most of Lord Wellesley's Staff— to Captain
Doveton, commanding his bodyguard ; to Sydenham ;
Colonel Shawe ; Colonel Calcraft, the Town Major ;
Captain Bradshawe, A.D.C., and Captain Armstrong,
A.D.C. I arrived at Calcutta December 13. The
approach to Fort William from the river is truly
beautiful, the grass sloping down from the garden
houses to the edge of the river, and large vessels an-
choring close to the shore. The magnificent palaces,
and, towering above them all, the Government House,
that from the whiteness of the chunam had the
appearance of marble, and the freshness of the grass
on the esplanade of an evening, where all the fashion-
ables meet in the cool of the evening in their carriages,
palanquins, or on horseback, struck me, unused to
such gay sights, as perfectly delightful. Here the
company linger, enjoying the cool of the evening,
until dusk, when they go home, where a good dinner
and plenty of cool claret and Madeira are waiting for
them. Major Brown was living as a bachelor, very
quietly and very pleasantly. He was an agent for the
salt-works, and he had also the command of a troop
of volunteer cavalry in the service of the Governor.
I presented my letter to the Town Major, who
was celebrated all over India for the excellent — nay,
luxurious — table he kept. He perfectly understood
good living and the art of cookery, which he super-

LORD WELLESLEY

157

intended himself — at least, all those things which
required to be attended to very particularly,
such as roasting English hams and basting them
with champagne. The first day I called upon
him he asked me to dine with him. I was en-
gaged to dine with Lord Wellesley, So he said :
* You had better not go there ; you will not get
anything worth eating there. His cooks don*t
understand the thing.* Colonel Calc raft's dinners
were truly recherche. I never ate anything in India
so good as the various delicacies of his table. I
often used to dine with htm. The first dinner I ate
at Lord Wellesley's he placed me on his right hand,
and the celebrated Indian diplomatist, Colonel
Collins, was on his left. He gave me a very
jracious and flattering reception, keeping me in
^continual conversation. The immense hall was
brilliantly lighted. After drinking a moderate
quantity of wine, coffee was introduced, after which
he took my arm and walked about. At length we
sat on a sofa, and he said : * Captain Elers, I shall
never give you any more formal invitations ; from
this day a knife and fork will constantly be placed
for you during your stay in Calcutta at my table/
How often have I since repented that I did not
avail myself of his kind and flattering invitation !
But my motive for not going was that I was living
with Major Brown, and did not like to dine out
unless upon some express invitation, and so leave
the Major to dine by himself.

^58

ELERS MEMOIRS

I remember during my stay at Calcutta an old
officer of the Artillery died at Calcutta, a connection
of Major Brown s. who requested me to go to the
station of the Artillery at Dum Dum and attend the
funeral, as he was too ill to go himself^ since it was
at a distance of ten or twelve miles* I also paid a
visit to Barrackpore, a country residence of the
Governor, It consists of a good house and a
beautiful park* laid out quite in the English style.
1 used to go to the dinners and parties of Sir George
and Lady Barlow^ Sir John and Lady Anstruthen
etc. ; besides these pleasant dinners we had several
balls and other parties in constant succession.

One evening, just before dinner, 1 sauntered into
a public billiard-table close to the Writers' Buildings,
where Major Brown lived, and I saw a gentleman
dressed in the uniform of a Captain of an Indiaman.
He pressed me very much to play a game with him.
I told him I had not time to play more than a game,
as I had not dined, and as I was living with a friend
whom I did not like to keep waiting. He then
begged me if I was disengaged to meet him there
after dinner to play, which I agreed to. He was
there punctual to his time. When we began to play
he proposed to play for gold mohurs, which I told
him was a great deal too high a stake for me^ and
that 1 would not play for more than one rupee a
game. I played for two or three hours, and continu-
ally lost, and, like all foolish young players, increased
my bets as I lost, until at length, after having lost

A BILLIARD MATCH

T59

more than two hundred rupees, I observed that I
thought he ought to give me odds* To which he
made a sarcastic reply that he did not see anything
in my face to induce him to give me odds. I felt
much annoyed at losing my money and getting
quizzed into the bargain, and yet something per-
suaded me that I was the better player of the two.
So I was resolved to persevere. I called for some
Madeira and iced water, and, having refreshed
myself, set to with renewed vigour. I soon regained
all I had lost, and had won of him three or four
hundred rupees besides. He then asked me to
give him odds, and I retorted upon him the galling
reply he had made to me. He played on, and as he
lost increased his bets, till at length, towards morn-
ing, he was so beaten and jaded he proposed to leave
off, and asked me to give him his revenge the next
day, which I agreed to do. He then gave me his
card and address, and told me he commanded
the John Painter, East Indiaman, taken up by the
Government to take the Persian Ambassador up the
Gulf, and that the Government was paying the
owners daily an immense sum for demurrage. He
at this time owed me upwards of a thousand rupees.
We met at about ten o'clock the next day and played
until dinner, and again after dinner until very late, I
having continued to win, and he increasing his debt
to me very considerably. We went on in this way for
two or three days, when he said he would try once
more, and should he not be able to reduce his debt

i6o ELERS MEMOIRS

to me, he would leave off and come to some arrange-
ment with me for the settlement of what he had lost.
We met, and we played three or four hours, and
getting still beaten, he said he had had enough of it.
At this time he had lost upwards of twenty thousand
rupees, and to liquidate this sum he offered to pay
not more than one-third down and the rest on
his return from the Gulf — by bills. I expressed my
dissatisfaction at this proceeding. I told him, and
with truth, that he had brought it all upon himself,
as he had proposed and pressed me to play for large
stakes, contrary to my habits ; and that I, having at
first lost to him and requesting to receive very
trifling odds to put us more on an equality, he had
refused to do so ; that I had played on to give him a
chance for several days to recover what he had lost ;
and that having done so, instead of paying me, he
offered me a comparatively trifling sum and bills for
the remainder payable in Calcutta. I told him, more-
over, that I was about to proceed to England, and that
I might never see him again. I also added that my
commission was a sufficient guarantee to him if he
had won of me, and that I should have paid him any
sum I had lost to him. In short, I told him I would
not accept the terms. I went to my friend Colonel
Calcraft, and told him the whole story. He said he
would make every inquiry about him, and if he had
the means of paying he should. In the meantime
Captain Read sent to me a friend of his, who said,
after paying me some compliments as to my giving

LEAVES CALCUTTA

i6i

my opponent every chance of winning his money
back : ' My friend is very much in debt and much
embarrassed, and has a wife and child ; and he has
commissioned me to say he will give you an order
endorsed by Messrs. Alexanders of Calcutta to
Messrs. Harington of Madras for 1,200 pagodas,
provided you will give him an acquittance for the
remainder/ My kind friend Calcraft made every
inquiry, and having done so, he strongly advised
me to accede to these terms, which I did. I heard
after that if I had accepted his bills they would have
all been paid, for he returned to Calcutta, got a large
prize in the lottery, and was with his ship remark-
ably lucky, made a great deal of money, took a fine
house In London, set up his carriage and servants,
went again to India in the John Palmer, and on
returning home was wrecked off the Isle of France
and perished !

One night at a ball I met Captain Pelly, com-
manding the Honourable Company s ship the United
Kingdom. I got introduced to him, and he told me
that if 1 was about to proceed to Madras he would
give me a passage. He was a handsome, fresh-
coloured young man about my own age, rather in-
clined to be fat, and a brother of Major Pelly of the
1 6th Light Dragoons. I took leave of all my
hospitable friends at Calcutta, and hired a boat to
convey me to Diamond Harbour, where the India-
man lay, a distance of 100 miles. The first night
we came to anchor off Saugor Island, an island full

1 62 ELERS MEMOIRS

of jungle and infested with royal tigers. I heard
them roaring all night long, and it is not unusual for
them, when very hungry, to swim off to the boats
and endeavour to get on board, which is not a very
difficult thing to do if the boats are small, as was the
case with mine. However, they made no attempt that
night, and I got safe on board the United Kingdom.

I here found a Mrs. Maxtone, the wife of an old
Madras civilian, and two young ladies, her daughters.
And when we stood out to sea we fell in with a ship
proceeding to Calcutta with Dr. Wybrow and his
wife, the former belonging to the Regiment De
-Meuron of the Madras establishment. A boat put
them on board of our ship, thereby saving them a
great deal of trouble and loss of time. This poor
lady, Mrs. Wybrow, encountered much prejudice at
Madras in consequence of her husband, Mr. Wybrow,
having kept a celebrated Columbine at the theatres,
who had assumed his name, when he was quite a
young man. I did everything in my power to show
them attention and introduce them on my arrival at
Madras.

Captain Pelly lived very well on board, and kept
an excellent table, and I thought would have married
Caroline Maxtone, from the flirtation going on during
our short voyage of three weeks. But it was not to
be ; the young lady afterwards got married to a
young civilian, well known by the name of Paddy
Moore.

I obtained leave to proceed on my private affairs

OUTRAGE IN TRAVANCORE

163

to England ; part of my regiment was doing duty at
Seringapatam, and a detachment was sent into the
Rajah of Travancores country, where there was
some disturbance. Some part of the regiment pro-
ceeded by sea, coasting along the Malabar coast.
A melancholy occurrence took place on this occasion,
A boat full of men, under the command of Sergeant
Tildsley (a capital drill, by-the-by, for the manual
and platoon), was induced by the representatives of
some of the Travancore people to land at a village,
saying that the regiment were landed and waiting
for them two miles up the countr)^ They landed,
and were surrounded before they could make the
smallest resistance ; their arms and knapsacks were
taken from them, they were tied back to back and
thrown into a deep tank, and, of course, all drowned,
to the number of thirty. The regiment afterwards
went to this village, where they took a dreadful
revenge, sparing neither young nor old.

I found that it was very uncertain when my leave
would be received by the Commander-in-Chief of
Madras from Lord Lake in Bengal, as his lordship
was much engaged at the siege of Bhurtpore, where
the natives had most obstinately beaten him off in
three different attacks, and after all he did not
succeed in reducing that fortress. It was reserved
for my gallant friend Lord Combermere to effect
that many years after. Under this uncertainty, and
not wishing to be idle, I requested leave to do duty
as a Captain in the 73rd Regiment, Lieutenant-

II — 2

i64 ELERS MEMOIRS

Colonel Moneypenny commanding. I forgot to
mention that during my stay in Bengal Sir John
and Lady Theodosia Craddock arrived from Eng-
land, the former as Commander in-Chiei" of the
Madras Army, bringing with him Captain Rennel
as his A.D.C. The 17th Regiment also arrived
at the same time, commanded by Colonel Stovin.
They relieved H.M/s 22nd in the duty of Fort
William. The 22nd were commanded by a Colonel
Mercer, a very tall man. Many of the men were
from Essex, and were for the most part very young
lads.

During my stay with Colonel Harcourt at Cuttack,
the famous retreat of the detachment under the
Hon. Colonel Monson took place, after his en-
deavour to form a junction with the army under
Lord Lake. This famous retreat, before an over-
whelming force of the enemy, was the subject of
conversation of the whole army. At that time it
did not occur to me that Colonel Monson had
married a relation of mine in Calcutta some years
before, and now a son by that marriage, William
John Monson, is the heir-presumptive to that
barony.

It was a most unfortunate circumstance that Lord
Lake, when he appeared before the fort of Bhurt-
pore, which, by-the-by, was only a mud one, did not
listen to the proposal of the Rajah. He offered to
pay the expenses of the war with Holkar if Lord
Lake would not persevere in his attack on this

SIEGE OF BHURTPORE

165

fort, as he was determined to defend it to the last
extremity, and at the last moment to blow the fort,
himself* his wives, and children up before he would
allow it to be taken from him. He made a resist-
ance against the victorious army of Lord Lake that
was without example in Indian warfare. The siege
was going on in its full vigour when I was at
Calcutta, and it was not taken when I landed at
Madras more than a month after. Lord Lake
made three distinct attacks upon it. and each storm-
ing party was beaten off with dreadful loss of
life. Upwards of 5»ooo men were killed and
wounded, and the loss in officers was very great.
The people at Madras made very long faces. It
showed what natives were capable of in the way
of resistance. Lord Lake, after all, was obliged to
give up the conquest of this, as it at first appeared
to him» insignificant fortress. H.M/s 76th Regiment
suffered very considerable loss in these attacks,
particularly the flank companies. At this time
the Congreve rockets and shrapnel shells were not
known, which, fortunately for Lord Combermere,
were used by him in the reduction of this fort years
afterwards.

When Sir John Craddock arrived in India he
informed me he had brought out the decorations
of a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath for my
friend Major-GeneraJ Wellesley, and also the
thanks of the House of Commons for his famous
victory of the Battle of Assaye on September 23,

1 66 ELERS MEMOIRS

1803. A story is told that Sir John got General
Wellesley's servant to bring his master's coat to
him, and placed the Star of the Order upon it
before he got up in the morning, and then enjoyed
Sir Arthur's surprise. I know I was one of the
first to give him joy of his blushing honours. In
fact, I knew he had the Order before he did.

I must here relate a story told me by Colonel
Calcraft about our late excellent King, William IV.
When Calcraft was in England, on leave of
absence, he attended most of the fashionable
parties where the Prince of Wales was in the habit
of going. At that time the Duchess of Cumberland
gave large supper-parties, previous to which faro
and other games of chance were played by the
young men of fashion, and Calcraft used to act
as croupier for the Duchess. One night after
supper, the Duke of Clarence, who at that time
had very boisterous spirits, suddenly attacked Cal-
craft, asking him to drink a glass of wine and making
use towards him of a most offensive expression.
The ladies all stared, and the Duke again applied
the offensive appellation. A dead silence took place
when Calcraft rose, and, addressing H.R.H., said
that whatever the difference there might be with
respect to their rank, he would not allow such offen-
sive expressions to be applied to him, and that if
H.R.H. again made use of them, consequences
would ensue very unpleasant to both of them. The
Prince of Wales, who happened to be present at

THE DUKE OF CLARENCE

167

supper, got up, and in his dignified manner said :

* Mn Calcraft, I insist that you instantly leave the
room. Any disrespectful language applied to my
brother in my presence I consider as an insult to my-
self/ Poor Calcraft was obliged to leave the room.
The next day the Prince gave a grand dinner at
Brighton, and all his particular friends were, of
course, invited, and among them, but for this un-
fortunate scene, would have been Calcraft ; how-
ever, he thought he would go and take his chance
of an invitation. He went down, but received no
card, and was for some time excluded from all fetes
given by the Prince. At length the Prince forgave
him, and it was all forgotten.

My kind and good friend Colonel Aston was, in
the early period of his life» on terms of very great
intimacy with the Prince after the business with
Chifney the jockey at Newmarket, who rode one
of H.R. H/s horses. As for the Duke of Clarence,
he quite disliked him ; he said he never by any
chance or accident spoke the truth. One day the
Duke met him in St. Jameses Street, and said :

* Well, Aslon, which way are you going ?' * First
tell me.' said Aston, * which way are you going ?'

* Oh, I am going down St. James's Street.* * Are
you ?* said Aston ; * in thai case I am going up.
Good-morning to you/ I have heard that when the
Prince of Wales was informed of the death of poor
Aston, the intimate friend of his youth, he was much
affected, even to the shedding of tears.

i68 ELERS MEMOIRS

Aston was unlucky in being engaged in so many
duels, and people, of course, concluded, although
mistakenly, that he was quarrelsome. He was by
no means so, but he was very fond of quizzing
odd-looking people, and having the advantage of
birth, fortune, youth, and figure, he thought, per-
haps, that people not having these advantages were
fair game. Hence the scrape he got into with an
Irishman one night at Ranelagh. Aston was walk-
ing in the Rotunda with some men of fashion, when
they met FitzGerald, who, by his accent and queer,
unfashionable appearance, caught the eye of Aston,
and every time he met FitzGerald he took off his
hat and bowed low to him, inquiring how he left all
his friends in Ireland. The Irishman stared, and
declared upon his conscience he had never set eyes
upon the gentleman in his life. His companions
cleared away the mist by informing him that it was
the famous Hervey Aston, who was quizzing him.
This enraged the Irishman, and he began to be
saucy and showed fight ; and Aston gave him a most
dreadful beating, and he then held him up towards
the lights, and said * he would do.* The Irishman,
of course, called him out, and shot Aston through
both cheeks, carrying away one of his double teeth,
the Irishman very facetiously observing that *now
he would do! What a narrow escape this was for
Aston !

Another duel he fought was with Mr. Home
Sumner. It was during the Ascot races. Riding

ASTON^S FIGHTS AND DUELS

169

past the Bush Inn at Staines, he saw two ladies,
giggling and laughing, leaning out of the window ;
hci happening to have an orange in his hand, threw
it at them, but missing them, hit Mr. Sumner, who
was in another part of the room. Sumner came to
the window in a great rage, and said he would give
five guineas to any man who would inform him who
threw the orange. * Well, then, it was I who threw
it,' said Aston* Down came Sumner in a fury,
puffing and blowing, and in the meantime Aston got
off his horse, and Sumner giving some language
that gave offence, Aston pitched into him and beat
him as usual. Of course a duel followed, and poor
Sumner got hit on the hip. Aston had fought three
other duels in England, with the circumstances of
which I am unacquainted. He once told me he had
a battle with some impudent footmen at the IJttle
Theatre in the Haymarket, who were Insulting
modest women by using indecent language as they
were leaving the theatre. He cut one of bis
knuckles against the teeth of one of these mis-
creants. It must, no doubt, have been very severe
for him to have recollected so trivial an affair.

On our passage down the Bay of Bengal to
Madras, Lieutenant Bentinck Doyle, of the St
Fiorenzo^ a fine frigate, under the command of my
friend Captain Henry Lambert, late in the com-
mand of the little Wilhelmina, came on board our
ship, stating that they were cruising in these lati-
tudes in the hope of falling in with the Psyche,

lyo ELERS MEMOIRS

a French frigate, commanded by a brave Frenchman,
who had done our trade much harm by his enter-
prise. His name, I think, was Surcouff. Captain
Lambert fell in with him two days after, and took
him by boarding ; Lieutenant Doyle headed the
boarders.

CHAPTER XI

Court-martial — A duel for a song— Arrested by mistake — On
duty with the 73rd Regiment — ^James Balfour of Whiltinge-
hame — Lord Cornwallis — Sails for England on the Hawkes-
hury — Dodging Admiral Linois — A Brazilian convict station
— News of Trafalgar and Austerlitz.

During my stay at Madras I was ordered to
attend, as a member, a general court-martial upon
two officers of the 34th Regiment, Major Yeaman and
Lieutenant Sands, The former was a Major by
brevet only. I had seen these two officers tried in
a civil court for murder before I went to Calcutta,
They were tried before Sir Henry Gwillam at
Madras for the murder of Captain Bull, of the 34th
Regiment, who fell in a duel with Lieutenant Sands,
to whom Brevet' Major Yeaman acted as second.
After the Judge summed up the jury retired, and
were absent one hour. They were both saved by
the perseverance of a person of the name of Hope,
a very rich merchant, who kept a European shop.
This man had once been a private soldier in India,
but had made a fortune of ^^ 100,000. The whole
jury wanted to bring in the prisoners guilty, but
Hope saved them and brought the jury over to his

[ 171 ]

172 ELERS MEMOIRS

side, and [when they came into court, Hope, who
was the foreman, pronounced ' Not guilty.' A dead
silence prevailed. It was really awful. I never
shall forget Sir Henry Gwillam saying: 'Not
guilty ! A most merciful jury ! Prisoners/ he said,
* had you been found guilty, you never would have
seen the sun rise again. You have had a most
narrow escape of your lives. Let it be a warning
to you.'

Captain Bull was a remarkably fine young man,
and of very quiet and gentlemanlike manners ; but it
was his misfortune to be sent on a detachment with
the above officers, together with others, who made
themselves so disagreeable to him that he withdrew
his name from this detachment mess. They took
offence at this, and desired him to state his reasons
for so doing. He gave as a reason that he was
every day expecting a young lady fiom England to
whom he was to be married, and he wished to live
more economically in order to meet the expense that
he should necessarily incur. They would not receive
this as an excuse ; they said it was an affront to the
whole mess, and they took up dice to throw who
should call this poor young man out and who should
be the second. The lot fell upon Lieutenant Sands,
and Major Yeaman as the second. A Lieutenant
Johnson of the 34th was second to poor Captain
Bull, who was killed at the first fire. It excited
universal indignation throughout the whole Presi-
dency. They were afterwards tried by a court-

A SINGER'S CONCEIT

173

martial of which I was a member, and they were
broke, I also recollect a Lieutenant Moore of the
34th Regiment, who was tried by the same court and
broke for some offence. He was in a dreadful state
of health, and only survived his sentence a short
time. Of this court-martial, I remember Colonels
Fancourt and Dodwell of the 34th were members
amongst others^ the former father to Major F.» late
a popular M.P. Colonel FV's end was very melan-
choly. He was assassinated commanding the fort
of Vellore shortly after 1 left the country in a mutiny
of the Sepoys.

The field officers and Captains of His Majesty's
regiments gave an invitation to Sir Arthur Weliesley
to dinner on his return to England, and Lord
William Bentinck was asked to meet him. There
was a Captain Skerrett of the 65th Regiment, an
Irishman, a handsome and remarkably gendemanlike
young man, but very tenacious of his dignity, and he
took it into his head that Lord William had neglected
him by not inviting him to some of his parties. It
happened that Skerrett had a very fine voice, but
invariably made it a great favour to sing. Lord
William and Sir Arthur Weliesley were sitting to-
gether, and someone suggested asking Captain
Skerrett to sing, as to which, as usual, he made a
great fuss and refused—* Got a cold/ etc. At last
someone said that if Lord William were to ask him
he could not refuse, so an unfortunate A.D.C. went
to Skerrett and told him that Lord William wished

174 ELERS MEMOIRS

to see him. Up jumps the gallant Captain. * You
sent for me, my lord ? What are your commands ?'
* Pray sit down, Captain Skerrett Sir Arthur
Wellesley and myself have heard you sing an ex-
cellent song, and hope you will do us the favour
to sit down and give us one to-night/ This
foolish young man, instead of doing as he was re-
quested, considered himself highly affronted and his
dignity compromised. So he jumped up and attacked
the A.D.C. who brought the message to him. Lord
William sent to the Town Major, a Major Thompson,
and whispered to him to put Captain Skerrett under
arrest, but not immediately, so that it might not
interfere with the harmony of the company, but
before Captain Skerrett left the room for the night, to
prevent the possibility of his fighting a duel with the
A.D.C. Now, I do not believe it was ever the in-
tention of Skerrett to do this ; it was only to show his
consequence and independence, and to mark that not
even for the Governor would he condescend to sing.
The evening, with this exception, passed off with
great harmony, and a great deal of wine was drunk,
and many got very tipsy; and unfortunately for me the
Town Major got so blind drunk that on my stepping
into my palanquin he came up to me and put me
under arrest, and insisted upon receiving my
sword. In vain I assured him that my name was
not Skerrett, that I had nothing to do with the dis-
agreement that had taken place between Captain S.
and the aide-de-camp, and that he was acting under

ARRESTED BY MISTAKE

^75

an erroneous impression. Nothing would convince
him, and I went to my quarter in Portuguese
Square highly indignant and, from having drunk a
large quantity of wine, in a stateof great excitement.
Unfortunately for me, I heard the sound of dice in
one of the officers* quarters, where two subalterns
were playing, one of them an officer of the 73rd, the
other of the 34th. I am sure both together by their
united efforts could not have paid me twenty pagodas
had I won it 1 sat down to play with them, and
foolishly lost a good deal This was entirely owing
to my excited feelings from wine, but more par-
ticularly from the rage I was in by being put under
arrest by mistake ; and all this from the folly and
conceit of Captain Skerrett in refusing to sing when
asked by Lord WilHam Benlinck.

It created much merriment at my expense with
Lord William, Sir Arthur Wellesley, and others,
who were amused at the stupid drunken mistake
of the Town Major, Thompson, / was the only
suj^erer, my usual good fortune in this business
having deserted me» I did duty with the 73rd
Regiment, and was an honorar)^ member of their
mess. With the exception of some of the senior
officers, they were by no means a pleasant set of
people to be associated with. They were on very
bad terms with each other. Colonel Moneypenny
was a gentlemanlike man, and his Adjutant,
Chamberlain, I liked ; I also liked Captains Morris
and Gordon > and a few others, but there appeared

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ELERS MEMOIRS

to be no harmony among themselves. Taken indi-
vidually, there was nothing exceptionable against
any of them, but I never was happy amongst them,
and I was almost glad that I got ill and was
prevented from messing with them, or doing any
more duty with them, during the last two or three
months I was in India; for 1 was detained waiting
for the opportunity of getting off for many months,
and did not go until September 10,

I got a good quarter in the fort fronting the sea,
and opposite Colonel Trapand's, of the Company's
Engineers. This Colonel Trapand was quite a
character. He was a remarkably small man, with
a large face and a long nose, inclining to the
Roman. He was to a certain degree clever and
accomplishedp quite a gentleman, by origin of an old
French family, and he was very fond of drawing in
water-colours, but in such a coarse way that his
trees and water looked very like scene-pain ting.
He was a great boaster — there was no ill-nature
about him— to a certain degree very pompous, but
he was very harmless and inoffensive. To me he
was ever a source of great entertainment, and I was
the last month or two very often with him, both at
breakfast, tiffin, and dinner. In the cool of the
evening I used to ride out with him in his post-
chaise- There lived with him a good-natured
Lieutenant of Engineers named Garrard ; he very
unexpectedly went to England, and in the same
ship that I did.

BALFOUR OF WHITTINGEHAME 177

There was living at Madras at this time a civilian
named James Balfour. He had been suspended
the Service for taking a horse as a present from
some of the natives. He got restored^ and as I had
parted with all my horses, he was so kind as to lend
me one to ride, and I fed him. He was a great,
tall, rough brute to ride, but he was better than
none. The Honourable Basil Cochrane had for
many years held the contract for supplying the
Navy with meat, provisions, etc, and made a very
handsome fortune; but he kept open house for every
officer in the Navy, from the poor mid to the Post-
Captain. This must have reduced his means of
saving a very large fortune, which he might other-
wise have done. My friend James Balfour, soon
after I left India, got Cochrane s situation. He
only held it a very few years, and he had made
j^300,ooo, and left a Scotchman by the name of
MacConnachy to act for him at an allowance of
j^6,ooo per annum. Balfour made this enormous
fortune in about four years» as he told me. He
bought a house in Grosvenor Square, became an
M.P., and married a daughter of the Earl of
Lauderdale.^ He did not, like Cochrane, keep
open house, or, if he did, it was only the doors and
windows.

About a month before I left India the old veteran

' James Balfour of Whittingehame, N.B,, married l^dy Eleanor
Mattland, daughter of James, eighth Earl of Lauderdale ; died
1845.

178 ELERS MEMOIRS

the Marquess CornwalHs^ arrived on board the
Medusa frigate, under Sir John Gore. They had
a remarkably quick passage out. The field officers
and Captains got up a congratulatory address upon
his return to India, the scene of his former active
services as Governor and Commander, to which he
returned a very suitable reply, adding that nothing
could have induced him, at his advanced period of
life, to have returned to India but the commands
of his Sovereign and the wishes of the Court of
Directors. He looked very healthy, with a fine
florid complexion and a disagreeable cast in one of
his eyes. He did not stay long at Madras, but
proceeded to Bengal, where he died somewhere up
the country soon after. I do not think he lived
more than six weeks altogether after his arrival.

During the last month I was at Madras some of
the regiments of H.M.'s Service were ordered to
hold themselves in readiness to proceed to Europe.
All these regiments had served in India upwards of
twenty years — viz., the 73rd, 74th, and 76th ; the
two former came home at the same time that I did.
I saw several regiments land at Madras about this
time from England — viz., the 53rd, 59th, 66th, 67th,
and 69th. Some of these went on to Bengal, but
the 69th relieved the 73rd at Madras. My friend
Captain Crawford at this time arrived at Madras,
and he also had obtained leave to return to Europe.

The last fortnight I spent in India was with a
^ Charles, first Marquess Cornwallis, died 1805

SAILS FOR ENGLAND

179

mrthy old surgeon whom I knew at Trichioopoli,
who was at this time a member of the Medical
Board, and as I had sold off everything 1 had. such
as furniture, etc», he asked me to come and live
with him at his garden-house, a mile or two from
the fort. And there I remained with him, only
going into the fort by way of passing the time until
the hour of dinner. Captain Crawford and myself
made a bargain with Captain Timbre!!, of the
Hawkesbury, for a passage, and we got a large
cabin between us, where we slung our cots. It
was the last aft on the starboard side. This cabin
cost us something more than ^200 each, and part
of the 74th Regiment's poor, worn-out old men
came on board with us ; also the colours of the
regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel Swinton, com-
manding ofificen The officers were Captains Mein,
Bos well Campbell ; Lieutenant White, and several
others whose names I cannot recollect ; Captain
Monteith, cavalry; Garrard, Engineers; Ritso,
late Captain H.M.s Service; Ensigns Garrard and
Roebuck, Engineers ; Garrow, Civil Service ; Dn
Ainsley. We had also General and Mrs. Cunning-
ham, Company's Service (the old General was
absolutely dying when he aime on board* but he
lived for years after) ; two squalling brats of boys»
a constant torment to their poor mother, who was
quite worn-out nursing them and the poor old man,
her husband, who was about forty years older than
herself; a Mrs. Ure, the wife of a Dn Ure, of

12 — 2

i8o ELERS MEMOIRS

Hyderabad, who had two fine children of three and
four years old under her charge, the children of
Colonel Kirkpatrick, of Hyderabad, by a Princess,
to whom report said he was married. Her High-
ness would not part with her children until ;^ 10,000
had been settled upon each of them. They were a
boy and a girl, and they had a faithful old black man,
who was very fond of them, to attend upon them.
Mrs. Ure had an infant of only a few months old,
nursed by a young native woman, immensely fat,
and she had also a young European woman as her
maid. The children of Kirkpatrick were consigned
to their uncle. Colonel Kirkpatrick, of Nottingham
Place.

It was my fortune to have this black and white
party consigned to my care on landing in England.
Having taken leave of my good old friend Dr.
Richardson, at whose house I had been living, and
having given away my favourite little dog Jack to
the youngest Miss Maxtone, I bade adieu to all my
Madras friends, and went on board the Hawkesbury,
East Indiaman, accompanied by my faithful black
servant Francis, who there, poor fellow ! took leave
of me. We did not sail till the next morning.
It will be, perhaps, scarcely believed that I, who
had been so miserable and pining to get home the
first three years of my being in the country (and no
poor Swiss ever felt more the absence from his
native country than I did during those three years),
was at the time I found the shores of Madras fast

ADMIRAL LINOIS

i8i

receding from my view affected even to tears. I
felt as if I was leaving my only home and the only
friends I had. I could scarce believe it possible
that I could have such feelings until the actual
moment arrived of our sailing.

Captain Timbrell was an excellent Captain — none
could be better. The chief mate, Mr. Johnstone,
was rather consequential, and the second mate,
Mn Cowles, was a good-natured, honest fellow.
We were under the convoy of Captain Draper, of
the Weymouth frigate, a very troublesome gentle-
man, fond of bullying the poor skippers under his
command. , We had the Baring, Indiaman, and the
Montrose, under Captain Patterson, a young man*
Nothing of consequence occurred till we got off the
Cape, when we buried poor Lieutenant White of
the 74th ; and as we experienced cold weather ofi
the Cape, the poor invalids of the 74th died daily.
We spoke an American off the Cape, who told us
he had spoken Admiral Linois and his squadron
only a few days before, and that they were looking
out for us. We bore down to the southward, and
one night soon after the Montrose and ourselves
agreed to cut and run, and not venture to go to
St. Helena, for fear of meeting with Linois. We
bore down to the Island of Fernand de Noronha, on
the Brazil Coast, within three degrees of the equator
It is the Botany Bay of Portugal, and inhabited by
1,500 convicts, with a small military force. Not
one woman on the island, and the most dreadful

1 82 ELERS MEMOIRS

crimes committed. I did not land there, but visited
a very small island about three miles off, the only
man upon which is a poor wretch banished there
for some horrible crime — perhaps murder — who
receives from the larger island a week or ten days'
provisions at a time. I went on this island and
stretched my legs for about ten minutes one
evening.

On returning on board, there was a great swell,
and our Indiaman, as the boat went under her stem,
looked an enormous height out of the water. I had
some difficulty in getting on board again. It requires
great activity to catch the exact moment when the
wave lifts you up near the gunwale, and in a moment
you sink a dozen feet at least ; and if it is difficult
for a man with two hands, what a difficulty it is for
him who has but one, which was the case with poor
Captain Boswell Campbell, who lost his arm in
action, and was still suffering exquisite pain from
some of the nerves that had been amputated ! He
would cry out in agony in walking the deck if anyone
came near him on the side on which he had lost his
arm, and particularly when we arrived off the Cape
during the cold weather. This brave officer, who
lost his arm at Assaye, had the misfortune to fall
out of his berth two or three days before we arrived
in England. He never came out of his cabin after-
wards, and died at the moment when the man on
the look-out hailed * Land !' It was a most melan-
choly sight to see the poor soldiers, three and four

TRAFALGAR

183

in the course of the week, and also three or four
officers of the 74th, thrown overboard in their cots
with a 24-pound shot placed at their feet, and the
splash which followed as they sank into the deep-
I'he men were sewn up in their hammocks, and
made a similar exit.

During the latter part of our voyage we ex-
perienced very bad weather, and were obliged to
have the dead lights up, and were scarcely able to
sit at dinner. We fell in with vast quantities of sea-
weed from the Gulf of Florida, and had such adverse
winds that it was thought at one time we should
have been obliged to go to the West Indies. We
fell in with a ship from England that sent us some
papers containing the interesting intelligence, and
at the same time melancholy news, of the Battle
of Trafalgar, and simultaneously that of the great
victory of Bonaparte at Austerlitz. My dear brother
Edward, your brave father, at Trafalgar, was third
Lieutenant of the Orion, 74, under Captain (now
Admiral) Sir Edward Codrington. I think he com-
manded on the main -deck, and towards the latter
part of the action a 74 lay helpless with her bow-
sprit across the broadside of the Orion, The men
were about to pour a broadside into her from the
guns of this deck, thinking she was a Frenchman,
when my brother sang out that it was one of our
own ships.

My dear brother had fought a very gallant action
about a year before in the Arrow, of 18 guns,

1 84 ELERS MEMOIRS

against two frigates somewhere between Lisbon
and Gibraltar. The Arrow was protecting a very
large convoy. She was sunk alongside the frigates,
and her officers and crew were sent prisoners to
Alexandria. My brother was a prisoner six months,
when he came home in a cartel and was appointed
to the Orion a short time before Lord Nelson s last
and celebrated action. He was unfortunately only
Second- Lieutenant of the Arrow, or he would have
been promoted, but Lloyd's voted him a sword.
When the Arrow went down, he swam with his
writing-desk, the only thing he saved, on board the
Frenchman ; and I heard him say that just before
the action, seeing he must be taken, he went to his
cabin and rigged himself out in his best clothes.
There was a clergyman's wife on board going to join
her husband, a Mrs. Miller, whom he was very
kind and attentive to in her distress. My brother
was also in Lord St. Vincent's action, February 14,
1797, as a mid on board the Prince George. He
had also seen much boat service.

CHAPTER XII

Bribing the Customs — 'Drinking gold' — An eccentric sportsman^
Sport in Yorkshire — The London season^Mrs. Colston's at
Ampthiil^ — Charles Fox at Woburn— Cheltenhara — Discovery
of a Titian — An awkward rejoinder — ^The Duke of York —
Dinner to Lord Wellesley.

Oh. what a delightful sight it was, the view of the
white cliffs of dear England ! It was nearly ten long
years since I last saw them. I was then nineteen
years of age ; I Wcis now, in February » within a few
months of twenty-nine, the most interesting period
of my life spent broiling in an unhealthy climate.
Already at this early age my hair had begun to
turn gray, my skin had grown the colour between
an orange and a lemon, and my forehead had
assumed wrinkles. But my health was tolerably
good, and my spirits as buoyant as when I was
nineteen. And when I recollected the officers and
men of my own regiment whom I had followed to
their graves, I could not help thinking of the mercy
of Providence that had protected me through so
many dangers both by sea and land, and allowed me
once more to put my foot on my beloved country.
None can possibly appreciate the love of their

[ 185 ]

1 86 ELERS MEMOIRS

native land but those that have been long separated
from it. How often on the shores of India, par-
ticularly at night or in the decline of day, have I
cast my longing eyes to the horizon, watching the
vessels that were sailing for dear old England ! And
now once more to have arrived safe and sound, I
felt truly grateful to my Creator.

Immediately we saw the land, my friend Captain
Crawford and Mr. Garrow availed themselves of
some boat that stood out to us, and for some twenty
guineas got put on shore, with a trunk each, some-
where in Cornwall. Others landed nearer Ports-
mouth. I was determined to take it very coolly, and
resolved not to land till I arrived quietly at Ports-
mouth. On the ship anchoring some four or five
miles from Portsmouth, poor Mrs. Ure, who had her
infant and the care of Colonel Kirkpatrick's children,
together with a black servant, a black nurse, and an
English maidservant, felt herself in a very helpless
and unprotected state ; she had, she said, property
in shawls, jewels, and other valuables to the amount
of upwards of ;^2,ooo (and the Custom House
officers were expected on board every minute), and
all this property was liable to be seized. We were
only allowed to take one trunk each on shore. She
began to cry and bewail herself, so I told her to be
comforted, that I would not leave her till I saw her
safe in London with her friends, and would save all
her property if I possibly could, but she must place
the whole of it, with the key, under my care. I

BRIBING THE CUSTOMS

187

had but twenty guineas in my purse to take me to
London, and I asked her if she had sufficient to pay
her expenses to London, for that I should want a
good deal to bribe the Custom House officers so as
to get her trunk passed. She told me she had plenty
of money, and she begged me to arrange everything
for her, I told her to put everything of value that
she had in one large trunk with some changes of
linen, etc. I then hired a large boat and got my
black and white party safe on board with about three
trunks altogether. When the boat grounded on the
beach at Portsmouth, I leaped on shore. The Custom
House officers seized our trunks and wheeled them
off to the Custom House. Some of the officers,
seeing the poor fat black nurse, handled her very
roughly, thinking from her large size that she had
shawls concealed about her person. She, poor crea-
ture, not speaking a word of English and not under-
standing their motives, got dreadfully alarmed. I
had enough to do to calm her fears and take care of
my party.

I went to the first hotel that presented itself,
which happened to be the Blue Posts, After dis-
posing them all in safety, I ran off to the Custom
House and saw the officers, who were examining
some gentleman's trunk. He offered them one
guinea to pass it. They were quite indignant at
this ; it was as much as their place was worth. At
last I got hold of one of the officers, and told him
my wife was very ill, and that there were things in

1 88 ELERS MEMOIRS

our two trunks that it was necessary that she could
get at directly, and that I wanted to have the trunks
passed immediately. I took hold of his hand, and,
without saying a word or making any further ob-
servation, slipped twenty guineas into it. He imme-
diately ordered the doors to be closed, so that there
was only a little light left, asked me for the keys,
undid the trunks, looked at them directly, and
declared (which was true enough) that he could not
see a single contraband article. He procured a
truck and a man to wheel them to the hotel, took
off his hat, and wished me good-morning. Mrs.
Ure was delighted that I had saved her property,
which I should certainly have lost if I had, like the
gentleman, mentioned a paltry bribe of two or three
guineas.

We slept at the Blue Posts that night, and the
next morning, after eating a capital breakfast, we
ordered two post-chaises and drove off in high spirits
towards London. We slept at Guildford, and the
next evening, at five o'clock, I delivered my charge
over to Colonel Kirkpatrick in Nottingham Place.
I remember the post-boy asking me where he should
drive me to, and I really felt puzzled. I at first
thought of going to Ibbettson s Hotel, but recol-
lecting that I used sometimes when I was very
young to dine at the New Hummums at Covent
Garden, I ordered him to drive there.

The first thing I did the next day was to go to
my kind old friend Mr. Hutchinson. I left him

DRINKING GOLD '

189

ii hale, cheerful old man of seventy-two, drinking
his wine and enjoying his joke even at that age. I
found him in bed, so changed, a fine hectic colour in
his face, a long gray beard, and most of his teeth
gone, attended by a nurse. He, however, knew me,
isked me to come and take up my quarters at his
louse, but looked grave and serious. I told him I
was living at the New Hummums. 1 thanked him
for his kindness, and told him I would come, as 1
used to do in my young days, to breakfast and dine,
and would sleep at my hotel For I thought my
hours would not exactly suit a private family* And
I had been, as I thought, too long out of old
England, and was determined to have my fling.
My friend Mr, Hutchinson, since I left England,
had succeeded, by the death of his eldest son in the
East Indies, to a large fortune, about ^ J 00,000, and
had a large house in Bloomsbury Square. His two
younger daughters were married, and his eldest was
still single, and took care of her old father,

I shall never forget the old gentleman's as-
tonishment the first day I dined there. A bottle
of Madeira was standing next to me at dinner,
and I mechanically seized and poured about half a
tumbler of it, according to custom, into water, as
we all do in India. Oh, the look of astonishment
he gave ! * Do you know, young gentleman, what
you are doing ? Why, you might as well drink so
much ^'o/d /' It was said exactly in the style of old
Munden.

I90 ELERS MEMOIRS

One of the first persons I endeavoured to find out
on my arrival in London was the Honourable Mrs.
Aston. When her poor husband was lying dead I
cut off a lock of his hair, had it placed in an elegant
locket, and sent it to her. She had expressed her
thanks to me by letter. I wrote to her sister, the
Marchioness of Hertford, for her address. Lady H.
wrote me a polite letter, saying that her sister
was living in great retirement with her children
at Temple Newsam, Yorkshire. I wrote to Mrs.
Aston, and she sent me back a very kind letter,^
telling me how much she wished to see me and
introduce me to her children.

I went down to Mrs. Tennant, and the first words
she said were : * Well, George, what has brought
you home ?' just as if I had left her the week before.
I told her, having been absent ten years and buried
my regiment twice over, I thought it was time to
come. * Well,* says she, * you must not stay in this
house one instant. I have a young lady dangerously
ill with an infectious fever, and I expect her to die
every hour.' Soon after this I happened to call on
a cousin of ours, a starched old maid, a Miss Jellicoe,^
and of all the days in the week it was of a Sunday,
in the middle of Church service. It was very
thoughtless and inconsiderate, I grant, but I heard
she made some rude and unkind speech on the occa-
sion, and I never called or saw her again ; however,

^ See p. 275. — Ed.

' Either Hannah or Sarah, daughter of William Jellicoe, by
Sarah Debonnaire, aunt of the writer.

COLONEL THORNTON

191

on her death, not many years since, I offered to pay
her the respect of attending her funeral.

Soon after my arrival in England I fell into
the company of the celebrated sportsman, Colonel
Thornton, of Yorkshire. He was at this time
labouring under great unpopularity from several
causes, of which I was then ignorant, 1 only had
heard of him through the Sporting Magazine, which
I remember reading from a boy* But he had lost
himself by many shabby tricks, and was, at the time
I got acquainted with him, a good deal cut. He
was, however, a man possessed of great wit. a first-
rate sportsman, of unbounded hospitality and great
conviviality, and had kept the first company, from
the Prince of Wales downwards. He was hated
by Mrs. Tennant, and she was angry with me for
keeping company with him. At this time he had
just sold his seat, Thornville Royal, which he
bought of the Duke of York, to Lord Stourton
for, I heard, ^^300,000.

He was particularly civil to me, and used to send
his grooms and horses for me to ride in the park ;
and he asked me to go down with him into York-
shire to a country seat of his called Falconer's Hall,
about forty miles beyond York and on the Wolds.
I set off in his carriage with a third person, an
officer who had served with him in the York Militia
when he commanded the regiment. We slept at
the Fountain at Huntingdon, and I went into the
inn-yard there, which I well remembered, having,

192

ELERS MEMOIRS

about fifteen years before, when I was a boy, killed
a sparrow there with a stone. I inquired after a fox
that used to be kept chained in the yard, but poor
Reynard was long since dead.

The next night we slept at Doncaster, and the
third we got to Falconer's Hall It was a pretty
box, consisting of a hall, a circular dining and
drawing room, a bedroom opening into a pretty
conservatory, where you could lie and see roses
blossoming and the snow outside deep on the Wolds
at the same time. It was the middle of March and
bitterly cold, but we had magnificent fires, the finest
hare soup 1 ever tasted, and dinners tolerably good,
for the Colonel was never famous for dinners. He
ate little himself; all he thought of was giving his
friends lots of wine. He was a very extraordinary
man ; he could sit up drinking night after night and
sleep in his chair instead of going to bed, and then
get on his horse and hunt all day. At this time he
was over sixty, and I, who was only twenty-eight,
could hardly stand this.

He had no less than sixty couple of beagles, and
one day we took the whole pack out together. As
they used to gallop down the hills, their white and
yellow backs all close together, they looked like
a sheet of water, I rode his best horses, and one
day after dinner asked him what he would take for
a high-bred mare I had ridden in the morning ; she
was bred by the celebrated Mr. 0*Kelly, of Canon's,
the owner of the still more celebrated racehorse

A FAMOUS MARE

^93

Eclipse, and this mare was of his blood and sprung
from him. She was like him, having white on one
of her hind-legs, a bright chestnut, and dark spots
on her hind-quarters^ and a head small enough to go
into a quart pot. She had run and won some races
at York, ridden by the famous Buckle, and was so
gentle that a lady riding her and being thrown by
the saddle turning, she stood still till she remounted.
She had run a four-mile heat in eight minutes. In
India my Arab horse Aboukir was near three
minutes fifteen seconds galloping two miles* I gave
him 140 guineas for this mare, and I rode her up to
London in six days, forty miles beyond York with-
out one trip, which was wonderfuL

I visited Scarborough, Harrogate, and Bridlington,
and arrived in London about the latter end of April
I went to the trial of Lord Melville in Westminster
Hall, visited all the theatres, never missed the opera,
and went on a visit to Mr and Mrs. Lambert near
Epsom at a pretty village called Woodmanstone
during the race week. I shall never forget the
beauties of this spring, the freshness and sweetness
of the sweetbriar hedges round Woodmanstone, the
lovely roses and the notes of the nightingale in the
evening, and the society of Mrs. Lambert and of her
lovely daughter, poor Jane Lambert, very lately
dead. Mrs. L. was formerly Miss N. Hutchinson,
who packed up and arranged all my trunks when I
left England.

During the height of the London season my two

194 ELERS MEMOIRS

cousins, Louisa Bell and the Honourable Mrs.
George Browne,^ both widows, arrived in London.
I saw them at a hotel. I promised Mrs. Browne
that I would come down and pay a visit to her and
my aunt, who had a house at Ampthill, Bedfordshire,
which pleased her much. Sir William Curtis,* a
distant relation of Mrs. Tennant, and a very old
friend, asked me to come and see him at CuUard's
Grove. He kept a capital table, and had a large
cellar of fine and choice wines, and after dinner one
day we went down into his cellar and tasted a lot of
different vintages of port and claret The present
Emperor of Russia, Nicholas, has often tasted the
wine out of these butts, pipes, and hogsheads during
his stay at Sir William Curtis's, who showed him
much attention during his stay in England. Sir
William was very anxious I should be presented
at Court by a cousin of Mrs. Tennant's, Lord
Henniker,^ and offered to introduce me to him.
Sir William's eldest son* at this time was just

^ Mary, daughter of Rev. Alexander Colston, of Filkins Hall.
Married, 1801, Hon. George firowne, third son of John, first Lord
Kilcnaine.

2 Mrs. Tennant's great-grandfather, Timothy Tennant, had a
daughter, Mary, married to Sir William Curtis, Bart., Lord Mayor
of London.

3 Mrs. Tennant's great-great-grandfather. Rev. Richard Tennant,
who died in 1682, had a daughter, Elizabeth, married to John
Major, ancestor of Lord Henniker.

* William, son and heir of Sir William Curtis. Married, 1803,
Mary Anne, only child of George Lear, of Leytonstone, County
Essex.

THE LONDON SEASON

195

married to a lovely woman with a large fortune and
still larger expectations, which were not fulfilled.
He lived at that time in Bedford Square, but has
now lived for many years in Portland Place, in one
of the largest houses in the street, formerly Mrs.
Broadheads, Mr. Curtis gave concerts every
Wednesday, and patronized the professionals for
years until they gave themselves so tnany airs he
was obliged to give them up. I remember meeting
at some parties two pretty girls^ — one a blonde^ a
Miss Orme, the other a brunette, a Miss Cockerel^
a daughter of Sir Charles. I remember paying a
morning visit at their villa on the Harrow Road.
At some of these parties I met three very fine
women, sisters of the name of Neville. They lived
in St James s Street. My cousin Mary Browne
introduced me to the two ladies Fitzpatrick,^
daughters of Lord Ossory. Their town house was
in Grosvenor Place, and they lived when in the
country close to my aunt and cousin at Ampthill
Park, and were good neighbours,

I at last left London in June, and rode down
to Mrs. Colston's at Ampthill. They had a large,
old-fashioned red-brick house with gardens and
a paddock, and as it was situated in the town of
Ampthill it was a great acquisition. I here saw
[grazing the same carriage-horses I remembered as
Imost colts twelve years before. A Mr. and Mrs.

* Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick, daughters of
John, second Earl of Ossory, Died uomarried.

13—2

196 ELERS MEMOIRS

Smith and daughters lived at Aspley, about seven
miles off. He was a clergyman, and had the living.
They were both of an excellent old family, and con-
nected with some old families in the county, particu-
larly the Butlers and the Charnocks. I used to ride
over and dine there sometimes. I also went to the
Wobum sheep-shearing, and that year the litde
Marquess of Tavistock presided in the room of the
Duke. I well recollect Francis, the late Duke, an
uncommonly handsome man, who lost his life by
what is termed strangulated hernia. A very simple
remedy in surgery, which could have been applied
by any country doctor, would have saved his life.
They sent to London, and the delay proved fatal.
It was he, with other men of rank in the Whig in-
terest, who first cut off their tails or queues, and left
off hair-powder, with a heavy penalty if they ever
resumed them. I think Charles Fox was of the
party and Colonel Montgomery, who was afterwards
shot in a duel by Captain Macnamara.

While I remained at Ampthill I took a quack
medicine to remove a thickness in the skin in the
palms of the hands, very common to people who
have lived long in warm climates, and which arises
from impurity of the blood. The medicine I took
was of a pink colour and called Spilbury s drops. It
was of no service, but put me in a constant fever, as
I believe the chief ingredient consisted of corrosive
sublimate.

My aunt and cousin did everything they could to

CHELTENHAM

197

amuse me, but 1 found Ampthill very dull, and I

longed to be again in the great world, as I had only

twelve months' leave of absence, which w^ould expire

in September, and it was now^ the latter end of June,

and nearly five months of that time was spent in the

voyage* So I bade adieu to aunt and cousin, and

returned to town once more. After spending another

six weeks in London, I set off for Cheltenham, and

rode my mare down in two days. I put up at the

Plough » and afterwards went to board at the Miss

Smiths in the High Street. This was the best

house in the town, where I think I paid three

guineas per week without wine or servants. I used

to go and drink the waters every morning, ride out

after breakfast with gay parties, and in the evening

went to private parties, balls, and concerts, 1 got

rather intimate with the Countess of Winterton,^

having known her daughter, Lady Elizabeth

Richardson, in India. One night at the rooms I

was dancing with a lady — I cannot recollect who it

was, but it was some friend of Lady Elizabeth s.

The Honourable Miss Duncan, who certainly had

the precedence of my partner in point of rank,

rather rudely pushed her down one couple. This

so enraged my fair partner that she implored Lady

Elizabeth to dance with me so that she (my partner)

might be gratified by Lady Elizabeth, as the daughter

of an EarK taking precedence of Miss Duncan, the

' Elizabeth, daughter of John Armstrong, of Godalmtng. Married,
1778, Edward, first Earl of Winterlon, as his second wife-

198 ELERS MEMOIRS

daughter of a Viscount. I wished myself a thousand
miles off.

I used to meet the pretty Mrs. RoUs,^ Miss
Barnett that was; her aunt, Mrs. Hig^ins; the
Honourable Mrs. MuUins and her handsome but
very masculine sister, Lady Clonbrock ; a Miss
O'Brien ; Mrs. Lind and her daughters ; Lady
Harriett Gill ; Sir Henry Smith ; Lord Wigtown,^
etc., and we used to make up card-parties and little
suppers among ourselves. I passed two months at
Cheltenham, when I wrote to my cousin, Alexander
Colston, that I would come and pay him a visit at
Filkins Hall, the very house where I spent two
midsummer holidays when I was fourteen and fifteen
years old. Filkins is about twenty miles from
Cheltenham, and so one day, just before dinner,
I rode into the old courtyard, and was ushered into
the well-known dining-room. I saw lots of lovely
cousins from fourteen downwards. The dining-
room was not altered, but all the other principal
rooms were filled with paintings of the old Italian
masters.

Mrs. Colston was a clever, well-educated woman,
and one day her attention was attracted by a poor

^ Martha, daughter and heir of Jacob Barnett Married, 1803,
John Rolls, of the Grange, County Surrey.

2 *Lord Wigtown' would be Hamilton Fleming, who styled
himself Earl of Wigtown, but his claim to the title was not allowed
by the House of Lords. His only child, Harriet Jane Laura,
married, 1794, William Gyll, Captain 2nd Life Guards, and died
1813.

FINDING A TITIAN

199

old man kneeling on a piece of canvas with an oil-
painting on it. The man was picking out the grass
between the pebbles in the courtyard, and was kneel-
ing on this picture to save his smalls. She looked
at the picture ; it was a lovely Venus of the school
of Titian. 'Where did you pick up this old piece
of canvas ?' The poor man said: 'In the rooms
over the stables. There are plenty more there,
rolled up.' Mrs. Colston lost no time in examining
the room, and there found between fifty and sixty
fine oil-paintings, chiefly of the Italian school. She
got a man from London, who offered her 200 guineas
for the two first he cleaned- She got them all cleaned
and framed^ and it made the house look splendid.

I had the curiosity to visit a certain lime-tree in
the paddock behind the house. It was one among
hundreds of others that formed an avenue to the
house from a pair of large white gates at the bottom
of the paddock. When I was a boy I had carved
my initials G. E., and underneath S, C. I found
the tree* and the initials were plain to be seen, but
overgrown with moss, I turned silently away. The
lovely girl at the time I cut her initials was blooming
and trippiag on the turf with all the elasticity of
youth and freshness. She was now in her grave.

I used to amuse myself shooting with my cousin
in the morning and playing at billiards ; in the even-
ing we had music and read Scott's * Lay of the Last
Minstrel.' When the curtains are drawn, the hearth
swept* and the fire blazing, a good dessert of fruit,

200

ELERS MEMOIRS

some fine old port, pretty rosy children and happy
father and mother, with a little malmsey and other
white wines to drink with the nuts, filberts, and wal-
nuts^ — with all these delightful combinations I really
think a country fireside in the month of October is
most enchanting. All this I had for a fleeting month,
when I winged my way once more to the dark and
foggy modern Babylon about the month of the
dismal November, 1806.

Having arrived in town, I met Major Gordon, of
the 34th, and a Captain Williams, of the 74th.
They told me they were boarding and lodging, but
in a very unfashionable part of the town. I did not
mind that^ and for the sake of their company — for I
began to get tired of living at a hotel — I joined
them. I forgot to mention that in the summer I
contrived to spend a fortnight with my brother in
barracks, at Brayborne Lees, Kent, where the 43rd
Light Infantry were quartered. When I last saw
the regiment they were at Hilsea Barracks (1796) ;
they were then the worst dressed regiment I ever
saw. Ten years after they were, without any excep-
tion, the finest body of men I ever saw, so well
dressed, and men all of the same height In short,
they were Light Infantry, and the officers all superb,
such as Napier* and Fergusson, now the finest and
most celebrated officers in the Queen*s service. The
43rd and the 52nd were the favourite regiments of Sir
John Moore, and were formed under his eye. All
1 Sir William Napier, K.C.B», historian of the Peninsular War.

THE DUKE OF YORK

201

the military world knows how they distinguished
themselves under the illustrious Duke in the Penin-
sula, where my dear brother died as Major soon
after the Battle of Fuentes d*Onor, on which occa-
sion he commanded the 43rd Regiment

It was. I think, in 1806 that my brother Edward,
your father, married Miss Younghusband, your
mother, I think you were born about a year after
at No. 24, Duke Street, Manchester Square. I
recollect a great friend of your mothers, a Lady
Trelawny, I remember your poor father, who had
all the downright bluntness and honesty of a British
sailor, making me laugh very much. Lady Trelawny
was a large woman, and had got wet through in her
thin kid shoes. Your mother had a particularly
small and pretty foot ; of course, Lady T, could not
wear her shoes, and a new pair of my brother's were
selected for her ladyship's use. Lady T. began to
apologize about wearing his shoes, * Oh, never
mind, my lady ; it will stretch them for me— do
them good ' ! Poor fellow ! he intended to be kind
and civil.

About the month of November 1 waited upon
the Duke of York at his lev^e at the Horse Guards
to ask for an extension of leave. After waiting a
long time in an ante-room, my name was called out
by the aide-de-camp in waiting. The door opened,
then closed, and I found myself alone with the
Duke, He was dressed in mourning for his uncle,
the Duke of Brunswick, He was standing up with

202 ELERS MEMOIRS

his back to the fire. He bowed, and motioned with
his hand for me to sit down. I in very few words
told him what I wanted, which was another year's
leave of absence, as out of the original leave granted
in India five months had been spent at sea. He
told me he would speak to the Adjutant-General
about it, and I thanked H.R.H., and was on the
point of making my bow, recollecting how many
prosy men he has to be bored by every week, and
so had determined not to say one word more than
what was necessary. But he made me sit down,
and asked me many questions about the regiment,
India, etc. At last he made me his bow, and I
retired. I could not help admiring the perfect
symmetry of his limbs, but he had got enormously
! fat since I last saw him.

A few days afterwards, to my great mortification,
I received a letter from the Adjutant saying that I
had His Royal Highness's permission to remain in
England^ but that I must embark by the first fleet
that sailed for India. A more unsatisfactory or
stupid answer it was not possible to receive. I
could not sail for India until a fleet sailed, and I
must necessarily remain in England until it did. 1
did not think it worth my while to trouble either
myself or H.R.H. by any further application or
remonstrance as to this stupid answer to my request,
so I made up my mind to go by the first fleet.

I forgot to mention that on my first arrival in
England there was a little man of the name of Paul,

DINNER TO LORD WELLESLEY 203,

who had gone out to India as a mere adventurer,
and who. in order to gain a name, wished to prefer
some groundless and malicious charges against
Lord Wellesley and his government in India. I
think he was an indigo-pIanter, and had acquired a
fortune* and that Lord Wellesley had been of some
service to him. He got into Parliament by means
of his money, and Sir Francis Burdett patronized
him; but they afterwards had a quarrel, which ended
in a duel. However, just when I arrived, meeting
some of Lord Wellesley 's friends, they asked me if
I would put down my name as a subscriber to a
dinner in honour of Lord Wellesley, to mark the
respect and affectionate regard we had for his public
services in India, and to counteract the dirty con-
spiracy of the vulgar Mr. Paul, who in India could
never presume to sit at the same table with his
lordship, but in this country was made a tool of by
some of Lord Wellesley's enemies. I said that I
was only too happy, and that I had received so
many kind favours both from him and his brother
that I should be glad to have the opportunity of
giving him twenty dinners. One hundred and fifty
names were put down as subscribers ; a respectful
letter was written to Lord Wellesley, expressive of
their respect and affection for his person and his
government, and to request that he would honour
them with his company to dinner, and would bring
with him fifty of his own friends whom he should
invite to meet him.

204

ELERS MEMOIRS

The invitation was accepted, and covers for 200
were laid at Williss Rooms in the month of March,
1806. Lord W. asked all the foreign Ambassadors,
most of the leading men of the two Houses of
Parliament, and the room was brilliantly lighted,
and shone with a profusion of Stars, Orders, and
Decorations. I never in my life saw anything so
truly magnificent. All London was ransacked to
procure all kinds of delicacies — turtle, venison,
pines, melons, peas^n short, everything in and
out of season. The band of the Guards attended,
as also many celebrated singers of the day. Every-
thing was well arranged. The dinner cost 2,250
guineas; my share came to 15 guineas, which I
paid into Morlands*, the bankers. The tables were
well arranged. One table went across the room, in
the centre of which sat the Marquess, and on his
right and left on each side were the Ministers and
foreign Ambassadors and his own friends, to the
number of fifty. There were two long tables
running down each side of the room for us, and in
the centre were placed the singers and the band«
All the clever men who arranged this party
divided themselves, and each took care of some
dozen of us. I was in the division belonging to
Gerald Wellesley, and I sat between the Honour*
able General Phipps and General Cotton, and made
them known to each other* Lord Mulgrave was of
our party, and the General, his brother, introduced
me to him. I found out that a relationship existed

SIR THOMAS METCALFE 205

between Colonel Aston and General Phipps, and
the General ever after honoured me with his friend-
ship. General Cotton, I remember, pointed Sir
Thomas Metcalfe^ out to me. It did not occur to
me at the time that he had married a relation of my
mother's. All went off in perfect harmony, and we
did not separate until an early hour.

^ Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Baronet, married, 1782, Susannah
Sophia, daughter of John Debonnaire and second cousin of the
writer.

CHAPTER XIII

Miss Gardner and Lord Chartley — A miserable marriage — Lord
Chartley's flight — Lady Chartley elopes— Sir Thomas Picton
— Torture in Trinidad — ^The Isle of Wight — A calumnious
clergyman — Society at Colonel Thornton's.

On my first arrival in England I was introduced to
a very young and delicate-looking girl, the only
daughter and heiress to an immense fortune, a Miss
Gardner, daughter of a Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, of
Grosvenor Street. The father was a vulgar little
man of low origin, I believe, who had run away with
his wife, who was the daughter of a rich lawyer in
the Isle of Ely at a place called Chatteris. Mrs.
Gardner was decidedly mad, and as I sat at dinner
I really did not feel comfortable with the knives in
her hands. As to the daughter, poor little thing!
she had not one word to say for herself — very shy
and innocent. My friend Miss Hutchinson used to
say to me : * There is a fine fortune now for you.
How should you like to have Miss Gardner T etc.
* I'll tell you what. Miss Hutchinson,' I said : ' I like
Miss Q^xAii^x's prospects very much, and perhaps I
might, if I knew the young lady better, like \i<^x for
herself ; but I am in England for a very short time,

[ 206 ]

A BID FOR AN HEIRESS

207

and I cannot afford to throw away time so precious
to me in dangling after a young lady that I have no
chance of getting without assistance. Now it is in
your power to put me in the way of putting her into
a chaise and four, and I will marry her at all risks.
If you will promise to give me your assistance. I will
give you a draft upon my banker this moment for a
thousand pounds/ Poor Miss H. was one of your
conscientious, prudent ladies — no dash, no resolution.
She thought there was no harm to make my mouth
water by asking me how I should like a young lady
with ^300,000, It was something like asking a
Hctle boy : ' How should you like, my dear, to have
a nice little pony ?* * Very much, mamma/ * Ah !
but, my dear, I am afraid to trust you. You must
wait till you are a big boy/ etc. This tantah'zing I
think very cruel. So Miss Hutchinson acted towards
me. * Oh, she would not do such a thing for the
world! Such a breach of trust!' etc. Poor Miss
Gardner was so watched by her parents that she
never slept out of their room, and was scarcely ever
out of their sight. Pretty chance had I, therefore,
without the assistance of Miss Gardners friend, the
old maid.

Miss Hutchinson had a sister married to a Dr.
Curling, and he possessed a very pretty villa and
grounds at Westbourne Green. This villa Lord
Chardey,^ a son of the Earl of Leicester, rented of

^ George, Lord Chaitley, afterwards Marquess of Townshend,
married, 1S07, Sarah, daughter and heirof Wtlliam Dunn-Gardner,

2o8 ELERS MEMOIRS

Dr. Curling, and Dr. C. had lodgings in St. James's
Street. On the occasion of one of the Drawing-rooms
the Doctor invited his lordship to come and partake
of a breakfast at which there was a large party to
see the ladies go to Court, and he gave him a hint
that Miss Gardner, a young lady, an heiress, would
be there. Lord Chartley was somewhat in debt, and
he took the hint directly. He was introduced in
form. This took place about March, just as I was
leaving London for the Isle of Wight to embark for
India. Lord Chartley proposed for Miss Gardner,
was accepted, and Mr. G. paid his debts, amounting
to ;^i 5,000, and gave his daughter ;^25,ooo, but
settled on herself. I returned to town very un-
expectedly from the Isle of Wight early in May, and
on the 1 2th of that month Lord Chartley was
married to Miss Gardner. It was not right of
Dr. Curling ever to have introduced Lord Chartley
to Miss Gardner. His lordship's character was
notorious to the whole world, with the exception of
the obscure Mr. Gardner, who, I think, had he
known what all the world knew, never would have
given his consent. Miss Gardner was married, but
his lordship never consummated that marriage.
Lady Chartley confided to a female friend the dis-
gusting particulars of what had passed, and what she
had suffered for nine months at Westboume Green,

of Chatteris. She left him in 1808, and went through a form of
marriage with John Margetts, brewer, at Gretna Green, 1809, by
whom she had a large illegitimate family.

A WRETCHED MARRIAGE

209

where she confessed she had bitterly repented of
ever having had the misery of being united to his
lordship, and wishing' thai I had been the happy
man instead. So I concluded that my name
had been long before mentioned to her by her
friend.

Lady Chartley about nine months after her
marriage, in a fit of anguish and despair, drove to
her father's house, threw herself at his feet, claimed
his protection, and disclosed scenes nearly equal to
those for which the infamous Mervin, Lord Audley,
was executed on Tower Hill in the reign of
Charles L Off went Mr. Gardner to Bow Street ; a
warrant was granted against Lord C., who fled the
country and has never appeared since. It was some-
thing curious that a few months before he had
brought an action against the proprietors of the
Herald for libel, and had a verdict in his favour
against them for ^2,000 damages. Lady Chartley
lived with her father about six weeks, seeing no one
but a Mr, Margetts, a brewer, I believe, who had
formerly been an unsoccessful suitor for her hand.
One night she ran away with this gallant hero, who
put her into a hackney coach and drove about with
her all night, not knowing where to take her, when
towards morning they found themselves at the
Spaniards at Hampstead Heath* They have lived
together ever since, and there are many children now
jrown up, who have assumed the titles of the
Townshend family. Lord C hartley's father, the

2IO ELERS MEMOIRS

Marquess of T.,^ disinherited him, but Lord C. had
an estate of ;^5,ooo per annum in right of his mother.
His next brother, Lord Charles Townshend, in-
herited Raynham and all the family estates. The
Marquess of Townshend disposed of his property in
this way : He left Lord Charles ;^5,ooo a year out
of his property in Norfolk, and he reserved the
surplus of his estates to form a fund for fourteen
years, and after that period the whole of the estates
were to be given up to Lord Charles, which would
make his income ^25,000 per annum. I afterwards
got acquainted with Lord Charles at Major Elring-
ton s, the commanding officer at the Tower, a con-
nection of Lord Charles's, who had married his
cousin, Miss Loftus, whom I have met at Sir Samuel
Fludyer's in Suffolk. Lord Charles, in speaking of his
brother s wife, said that after the death of his brother
he made no doubt he should have great trouble in
getting his title as Marquess Townshend, as it was a
very difficult case ; but I sincerely hope, for the sake
of the noble blood of the Townshends, that it will
go in the legitimate line.^

I took, as I thought, a last farewell of London
and all my friends. Among the rest I went to Sir
Thomas Picton, who invariably treated me with

^ The Marquess of Townshend was created in 1784 Earl of
Leicester. He succeeded to the Marquisate of Townshend in 1807.

2 John Margetts, son of John Margetts by Sarah Lady Town-
shend, nU Dunn-Gardner, was declared illegitimate by Act of
Parliament, 1843, after having claimed the title of Earl of Leicester,
and sat as such for Bodmin, 1841-43.

SIR THOMAS PICTON

211

great kindness, I suppose chiefly from my being an
old officer in the 12th Regiment, which quite
belonged to the family of the Pictons, He used to
say to me : ' I do not know what you have done to
my old unclei but he is quite wrapped up in you, I
assure you, you are a great favourite/ This I felt
very flattering, and 1 am sure Sir Thomas liked me,
as he tried to get me on his Staff, and applied to the
Commander-in-Chief for that purpose ; but without
success, as 1 afterwards was put on the Recruit-
ing Service, when old Dundas was Commander-in-
Chief. Sir Thomas Picton was a brave soldier, a
warm friend, but an inveterate and bitter enemy.
and it did not matter however high the rank might
be of the person whom he hated. He never forgave
the Duke of Wdlitigton about his brothers quarrel
with Colonel Aston— not that I can bring to mind
that Colonel Wellesley had anything to do with it at
all. On the contrary, I know the Duke strongly
advised Aston noi to publish the order in question
which led to his death, I have not a doubt that this
was the ground of their differences in the Peninsula.
J heard one day that in one of the Peninsular battles
division was performing prodigies of valour in the
sight of the Duke. * Well done, Fifth Division !'
cried the Duke. ' Well done, Fifth Division,
indeed !' said Sir Thomas ; * it is my division, the
Third' * Oh, I thought it was the Fifth !' cried the
Duke. • You thought^ indeed f cried Sir Thomas,
and rode proudly away,

14—2

212 ELERS MEMOIRS

I only relate this anecdote to show the character
of the man. Could there be one other man in the
whole British Army that would have made such a
reply to the Duke of Wellington ? I do not mean to
say that this was in good taste, but only to show the
character of the man. After the celebrated retreat
from Burgos, I called upon General Picton. He
was in a great rage at what he called the treatment
he had received. I did not like to presume to ask
him who had given him offence, but I suppose it was
the Duke. * Til tell you what, Elers,' said he : 'they
may force me out — that I cannot help— but I will
never serve again if I can avoid it' Ministers, how-
ever, knew his value, and so did the Commander-
in-Chief, for they made him a Grand Cross of the
Bath ; and the Duke of Wellington himself, well
knowing his invaluable services, applied for him to
join his army on the last g^reat occasion, the return
of Bonaparte from Elba. I met poor Picton one day
in Pall Mall. ^What's the news, Sir Thomas?'
* Why, I have just now heard,' said he, * that Bona-
parte has escaped from Elba and is now in France.'
I expressed my surprise and incredulity. * Well,'
said he, * you have it as I have had it, and that is all
I know about it.' These are the last words I ever
heard from his lips, and the last time I ever saw him
alive. The next time I saw him was in the front
parlour of his lodgings in Edward Street, Portman
Square, lying dead in his coffin, his sword scabbard
bruised with shot, his boots uncleaned and stained

PlCTON*S FUNERAL

213

with the yellow mud of Waterloo, and hts accoutre-
ments lying about in confusion. It was doubtful
whether the hero would have a public funeral, but
his brother, the Rev. Edward Picton, told me that
he would be buried quite privately, and that only his
most intimate friends would be present He flattered
me much by requesting me to attend the funeral,
which I did. There were about eight mourning
coaches^ — the Honourable General Stewart and Sir
^ Ewen Cameron, a general officer and most attached
friend ; his aide-de-camp, Major Tyler ; Edward
Picton ; and many others, I remember. He was
buried in St George's Chapel, Uxbridge Road, in a
vault under the chapel. Old Sir Ewen put his hand
on the coffin in the vault, the tears rolling down his
cheeks: *God bless thee» Tom Picton ! fare thee wdl*
It was a truly interesting and melancholy sight
Poor fellow ! when 1 first came home he was perse-
cuted by General F and brought to trial

for what they called torturing Louisa Calderon
at the Island of Trinidad. This girl, a slave, was
tried at Trinidad for theft. The Spanish laws were
in force, and the girl being found guilty, she was
I sentenced, according to the Spanish laws, to stand
upon a sharp peg for a certain time. It was a very
common punishment for the Dragoons when I first
entered the service, and it was called picketing.

Colonel F had had some quarrel with

General Picton, and out of revenge trumped up this
charge against the General. He had anticipated an

214 ELERS MEMOIRS

acquittal, and had asked a very large party of his
friends, including myself, to dinner at the British
Hotel on the day of the trial. The trial lasted until
past the hour of dinner. At length he arrived with
his friends from the court at Westminster, saying
that the trial was postponed until some witnesses
could arrive from the West Indies. This was a
certain way of ruining poor Picton by the dreadful
expense, which was the chief motive that prompted

Colonel F to pursue this course, as the

Crown prosecuted, with no expense to F .

We were all very sorry for poor Picton, and the
Duke of Queensberry, who was not at all acquainted
with him, wrote and told him he was convinced he
had been hardly used, and that his law expenses
must be very great, and begged his acceptance of
;^5,ooo towards defraying the law charges. Picton
wrote his thanks, but declined receiving it, saying he
had an uncle, General William Picton, who would
pay them for him. The Duke of Queensberry after-
wards left him in his will ;^ 10,000. He often used

to say to me : * That rascal F is a rank

deception, and so he has been all his life.'

On my going down to the depot at the Isle of
Wight, General Picton gave me a letter of introduc-
tion to Colonel Barlow, the commanding officer, and
I was in consequence received with great attention
by that officer and all the Staff of the depot. The
depot was a short mile from the town of Newport,
and we only had to attend a parade that did not last

ISLE OF WIGHT

215

half an hour after breakfast. I got intimate with all
the Staff, particularly with the present Sir William
Boothby,^ Baronet^ a fine, handsome young man,
just married to a daughter of Lord LiverpooFs ;
Captain Bygrave, of the Staff, who knew my brother,
having served with him in the West Indies ; Mr. and
Mrs, Knyvett ; the Paymaster, and several others.
The depot was full of officers and soldiers waiting
for the opportunity of being sent out» like myself, to
join their regiments in all parts of the world.

About a mile from Newport lies the pretty village
of Carisbrook. When I was a youngster, on my
first joining my regiment I used often of an evening
to walk out to this village across the fields- I used
to observe a very happy family party who came
every day to attend the market This party con-
sisted of a young man and his pretty young wife,
the young mans mother, and her husband, a Captain
in the Navy, a great deal younger than herself.
They lived at Carisbrook in a pretty cottage covered
with a large spreading vine and roses, and with many
Bowers in the little garden in front of the house,
which was called Clatterford Cottage. They used
to come into Newport, sometimes in a handsome
post-chaise, and sometimes the young gentleman
came with his blood horses, attended by his groom.
I thought they appeared a truly happy family party,
and one day I asked the groom the name of his

* Sir William Boothby, Baronet, married Fanny, nieoe, not
daughter, of Charles, first Earl of Liverpool.

2i6 ELERS MEMOIRS

master. He said it was Edgeworth. I directly
went up and introduced myself to him, and he said :
' I know your name well, and my mother, Mrs.
Douglas, knew your father well, and will be
delighted to see you ; you must come out and dine
with us to-day without ceremony. We shall make
no ceremony with you, as you are one of the family.'
I went accordingly, and I think we dined at the
early hour of four. I spent a very pleasant day, and
returned home to my lodgings at Newport, having
promised them often to visit them at their cottage.
Douglas was a Captain on half-pay, and married
Mrs. Edgeworth from pure affection, independently
of her jointure, which, I suppose, was a good one, to
judge by her son's fortune.

During my stay at the depot in the Isle of Wight
1 was ordered to sit upon a general court-martial,
and about that period I met a clergyman of the name
of Chudleigh, whom I recollected, when a boy,
staying at my Uncle Colstons house on a visit
with my cousins, who were brought up with him
both at Winchester College and afterwards at
Oxford. In the course of conversation he spoke
very disrespectfully of my cousin, Lieutenant-Colonel
Colston, and I instantly, in a letter to the Colonel,
mentioned what he had said. The Colonel at once
came down to Newport to demand an explanation
of Mr. Chudleigh, and this man, a disgrace to the
cloth he wore, utterly denied ever having made use
of the language I had reported to my cousin. The

THE COLONEL AND THE PARSON 217

*court-martial of which I was a member had closed
their proceedings, but had not dissolved, and had I
complied with Colonel Colston's wishes to have
acted as his friend on this occasion, I should have
been liable to have got into a very serious scrape,
being on duty and not released from it* Independently
of that, Mn Chudleigh, who had the meanness to
deny his own words, was not likely to fight, par-
ticularly as he could shelter himself behind his cloth.
At this time 1 had gone to Portsmouth to see a
74-gun ship launched, leaving word where I was to
be found. On my return to Newport, Mr. Chud-
leigh had left, and I never afterwards saw this calum-
niator and pitiful liar. However, Colonel Colston,
who is not, whatever his good qualities may be, very
remarkable for good sense, thought proper to feel him-
self ill-used by me, and we have never spoken since.
Poor man ! I do not blame him, but he is under the
control of his wife, who insisted that he should show
fight, and was very bitter against me because I did
not choose to run the risk of losing my commission to
gratify her revenge against the miscreant Chudleigh.
I remained at the depot about two months, expect-
ing every day to be ordered to embark, when one
day I got a letter from the Horse Guards that I was
ordered to go on the Recruiting Service, and that my
party was stationed at Ipswich, in Suffolk. Oh, how
delighted I was ! Your^ father was now a Lieutenant

^ These Memoirs were addressed to the nephew of the author,
ihe SOD of his younger brother, LieuL Edward Elcrs, R,N. — Ed.

21 8 ELERS MEMOIRS

on half-pay, and lived with your mother in a good
house at Emsworth, about fourteen miles from
Portsmouth, and his mother-in-law lived in the
same village. It was a dull place, and the only neigh-
bours he had were Navy people, vulgar, ill-bred, and
illiterate. He used to make bitter complaints to me
of his want of society. You were not above a year
old at this time. I forget whether I paid him a
visit before I went to town, but I know I did in
August following, as I went on duty to the Isle of
Wight about the latter end of September. I returned
to town in excellent health and spirits, and took up
my old quarters at the New Hummums.

Colonel Thornton had at this time very serious
thoughts of taking unto himself a wife, and, as chance
would have it, I was the indirect means of his
obtaining one. At this time he had an immense
old-fashioned house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, once
the property of Lord Kenyon. This he had
purchased and filled with valuable paintings by old
and modern masters. He had his horses, carriages,
and servants in town, and he had another large
house called Dorset House near Manchester Square,
and a small house near Astley's Theatre, which he
called *The Boudoir.' At his house in Lincoln's
Inn Fields he gave bad dinners but plenty of good
wine. I used generally to dine there four days out
of the seven, and there I met all sorts of people,
consisting of actors, authors, painters, musicians,
peers, boxers, poets, etc. Of the former I have met

COLONEL THORNTON^S PARTIES 219

Kelly, Incledon,^ Munden, etc. ; Bowden, Reynolds,
etc. ; Ashley^ Attwood,- etc* ; Peter Pindar,^ Lord
Scarborough, Lord Coleraine (the celebrated George
Hanger) ;* Major Wilson, afterwards Lord Berners ;
Daniel Mendoza;*'' Messrs, Wichelo. Reinagle^
Barrett, and Morland, these last celebrated painters,
and a variety of others. What scenes of fun. wit,
and humour I have witnessed at these parties ! I
have not enumerated one-half of them, and there
are now very few alive that used * to set the table in
a roar.* There was one fine old gentleman called
Tom Adkin. He had spent his fortune chiefly with
the late Mr. Whitbread, and he had been for many
years a pensioner of Mr, W, Lady Elizabeth W.
much respected him» and attended him on his death-
bed a few years since. He had kept in his youth the
highest society, and was quite delighted when I told
him I knew poor Colonel Grey, of the 12th Regi-
ment He gave me a letter to Lord Charles
Fitz-Roy, who commanded at Ipswich, a great
friend of Colonel Aston's^ and he was civil to me

^ Michael Kelly and Incledon were the most celebrated English
tenors of their day.

* Thomas Attwood, bom 1767, died 1838 ; organist of St Paul's
Cathedral and the Chapel Royal

* * Peter Pindar/ the noted satirist.

* George Hanger, afterwards fourth Lord Coleraine. Well
known as Colonel Hanger, a companion of the Prince Regent.
Was the author of several pamphlets, and of his own ' Life,
Adventures, and Opinions,' Died 1824.

^ Daniel Mendoza^ the Jewish pugilist.

220 ELERS MEMOIRS

by asking me to his house during the Christmas
holidays ensuing.

I forgot to mention that when I left London for
India I sold my thoroughbred mare at Tattersall's.
Buckle, the famous jockey, came all the way from
Newmarket for the purpose of buying her ; but
Colonel Thornton persuaded me to put off the sale,
and to sell her to a friend of his, a turf man, who
said afterwards that she was too slight for him. I
therefore lost the opportunity of selling her to
advantage, and she was knocked down for only
thirty-eight guineas. Before I left London I went
down to Ascot races with three ladies in a barouche —
Mrs. Sherston, wife to Mr. Sherston, Madras Civil
Service ; Mrs. Roebuck, the mother of the present
member of Parliament ; and her half-sister, a most
lovely young girl, a Miss Stapleton. The two last
long since went to Russia. On our return we dined
at a private house at Bedfont. We had a most
delightful party.

CHAPTER XIV

Recniiting al Ipswich — Ordered to Maidstone— Return to Ipswich
— A sporting parson— Pictures at Didlington — A large in-
heritances—The maid's ^£"50 note — A swim for the rods —
Hawking at Didlington — Disgust at cock-fighting — A
gardener's familiarity — Orwell Park and Wherstead Lodge —
A rascally butler— Admiral Vernon and grog— The Duke of
Cambridge and Baron Lin sen gen.

After passing a gay month in London, I set off for ]
Ipswich* I shall never forget how dull I felt the
first two or three days. I did not know a single
soul in the whole town, I had a recruiting party
consisting of one poor old-fashioned sergeant,
Dalrymple, an honest creature ; a corporal ; a
drummer, fifer, and four or five privates. They
were the first people I spoke to. The town of
Ipswich at this time was full of military— the
loth Light Dragoons, the 7th ditto, under Lord
Paget, the West Suffolk Militia, Hertford ditto, etc.
The inspecting field ofificer was old Colonel Sir
William Aylett ; he was not much liked, but I got
on with him very well and also with his Adjutant,
a Lieutenant Hutchinson. These were the two first
people I knew, the former being my commanding
officer. Lieutenant H. was a married man, and he

[ 221 ]

222

ELERS MEMOIRS

assisted me to procure lodgings, which I had much
difficulty in finding. At last I got very good ones,
drawing-room and two bedrooms.

It happened that an old friend of mine whom I
knew in the Company's service had lately got into
the loth Dragoons — Harding, a son of Newman
Harding of Essex» well known as a Master of Hounds.
He introduced me soon after I arrived to all the
loth, and I dined at their mess, and no longer
found it dull or moped about the town by myself. I
also got acquainted with a mad fellow by the name
of Tom Brydges» the son and heir of old General
Brydges of India, He ran away with his wife from
a ball Their united ages did not exceed thirty-two,
and, as it turned out, she was a woman of good
family, and had afterwards a very good fortune.
He had just sold out of the 4th Dragoons, and his
father allowed him ^700 a yean He kept an
immense high tandem, and lived in lodgings with
his wife, I had just formed these pleasant acquaint-
ances, and was beginning to find myself comfortable,
when I received a bitlei-doux from the Adjutant-
General ordering me to repair to Maidstone to
receive the volunteers and officers from the Militia
who had volunteered into the line. Off I went» and
arrived with my party at Maidstone, where I found
many officers of the line» like myself, ready to receive
their men, I put up at the Star Inn at Maidstone,
where I found a handsome gold watch and chain
and seals, that, on inquir)% I learnt belonged to the

RECRUITING

223

landlord, who might have lost them by his careless-
ness> had I not had the pleasure of restoring them to
him. I received from the Suffolk Militia 100 fine
fellows and two officers* The 12th Regiment is
called the East Suffolk, We formed a mess at the
Bell Inn, Maidstone, and I made there an acquaint-
ance, which ripened into an uninterrupted friendship,
which exists to this day, with Captain Watson, of
the 69th Regiment He is nephew to my friend
Calcraft, whom I knew in India. He was long
after this badly wounded in the 69th, where he held
the rank of Major at the Battle of Waterloo. He
was upwards of forty years in the service, never
under arrest, taken prisoner at Bergen-op-Zoom,
retired from the service with the rank of Lieutenant-
Colonel in the army only, without pension, orders,
or any reward^ — universally beloved and esteemed.
But such is the fortune of some men.

We were ordered to proceed with our men to
Bray borne Lees, where Major Napier of the 50th
commanded, and from thence to the Isle of Wight*
in order to have them embarked for the East Indies.
I marched all the way with my men, and delivered
them over to General Taylor of my regiment, at
that time commanding at the depot* This was a
very troublesome service, particularly about their
pay and accounts. At last I settled everything, and
called on my kind friends at Clatterford Cottage,
stayed a few days with them, and then paid a visit
to my brother and your mother^ at Emsworth for a
1 Mfs. Edward Elers-— Eb.

224 ELERS MEMOIRS

couple of days, returned to Portsmouth, and from
thence to London. I forgot to say that, during my
short stay in the island, there was an annual ball
held in September, called the Hunters* Ball. This
I attended, and danced with Lady Torrington. She
was living at a beautiful cottage in the Island. All
the beauty and fashion of the Island were at this
ball, and I spent a very pleasant evening.

I got to Ipswich about the middle of November,
and I found on my arrival about half a dozen of the
volunteers whom I had selected to strengthen my
recruiting party. I selected one tall, good-looking
man for a servant, and I found by the assistance of
these new recruits that I enlisted every now and
then some raw country fellow. In the meantime I
made further progress in the society of Ipswich.
There was a reading-room, a coffee-room, and a
billiard- table. All these rooms were open to all
officers at the moderate subscription of one guinea
per annum, and they were attended constantly by
all the respectable part of the town as well as of the
county. At the same house were held the monthly
subscription balls, which were well attended by the
military and the Ipswich and country folks. By
this means I much extended my acquaintance, and
made my time pass very pleasantly. There was a
clergyman, an old bachelor, a man of good fortune
and with a snug living, who was very fond of a
game at billiards. One day he came into Ipswich
with his servant and saddle-horses, and after we had

A SPORTING PARSON

225

done our game, he asked me to come home with
him and dine ; and I rode his servant s horse to his
rectory, about four miles from Ipswich, to Freston,
on the banks of the river Orwell, a lovely country
all round, and full of game which was strictly
preserved. Mr. Bond, for that was his name, I
found very hospitable ; he loved a glass of good
port, was well read, fond of music, and strictly
preserved a wood of his full of pheasants. His
temper was irritable, and when excited, I have
heard, very violent ; but I never through a long
acquaintance ever had the slightest difference with
him. The first day I dined with him, I found, over
our wine, that he knew most intimately one of my
schoolfellows, a Mr. Revell, who was married to a
very charming woman, and lived at Englefield
Green, He also knew a Mr. and Mrs. Henderson,
the latter a cousin of mine; and also the Rev.
George Anguish of Norfolk, brother to the Duchess
of Leeds, who were related to my old cousin, Mrs,
Blake* All these were his intimate friends, and
from that day he formed a friendship with me.

My father and mother were on terms of great
friendship with Sir Thomas and Lady Cullum, of
Hardwick House and Bury, Suffolk, and the
Dowager Lady Cullum used generally to spend six
weeks with us every spring. Sir Thomas had a
sister^ the widow of Mr. Vernon of Orwell Park, and
she had two children, John and Arethusa Vernon,
about my own age, whom I recollect perfectly when

226 ELERS MEMOIRS

a child. Mrs. Vernon was a schoolfellow of my
mother's, and used also to visit us when she came to
town. I told all this to Mr. Bond, who made Mr.
Vernon acquainted with it, and Mr. V. called upon
me and invited me to Orwell Park, which lay on the
other side of the river, nearly opposite to Mr. Bond's ;
Sir Robert Harland, who married Arethusa, sister to
Mr. Vernon, lived on the opposite side to Mr. Vernon,
at a place called Wherstead Lodge,^ about two miles
from Ipswich.

It was in the year 1808 that I got very intimate
with Mr. Vernon and renewed the long intimacy
with Sir Thomas and Lady Cullum, my father's
old friends. My brother was also quartered at
Colchester, so everything conspired to make me
happy and comfortable. And to vary the scene I
used to go every now and then a trip to London.
On one of these jaunts I met Major Wilson, after-
wards Lord Berners. He was the greatest oddity
I ever knew. He asked me to go down to his
seat at Didlington, and to go to the SwafFham
races near there, where he had some horses to run.
We set off in his barouche. He was a most remark-
ably silent man, scarcely ever opening his lips, and
this in a carriage, on a long journey, is not very
pleasant. About sixteen miles from town we
suddenly stopped at a handsome pair of gates. The
bell rang, and we drove into a courtyard where there

^ Subsequently for some years, about 1820, the residence of my
grandfather, the first Earl Granville. — Ed.

DIDLINGTON

227

was a fine mansion. We alighted, and he then said:
' This is my sister, Mrs. Russell^ This is my friend,
Captain Elers/' The Major was a man of few
words. We sat down to a good dinner and good
wine, and retired early to rest. Next morning after
breakfast we took our departure. The name of this
place is Stubbers,

As we travelled with the Major's horses and two
servants our journey was slow, and we reached
Chesterford in the evening, where we slept, and got
to Didlington to dinner on the following day. The
house was an ancient family seat of the Wilsons,
about four miles from Brandon and twelve from
Thetford, beautifully wooded and watered. There
was a fine sheet of water in front of the house, full
of fish, and a heronry at the bottom of the lake.
The dining-room had some old pictures, portraits of
the family; Henry VII L, by Hans Holbein, in an
old black carved frame ; the first Lord Berners in the
reign of Henr>^ VI, ; Sir Henry Guilford about the
reign of James I. ; Lady Berners. who claimed the
barony, and was allowed it by Parliament. She died
in 1743, when the title sank into abeyance, and so
remained until my friend the old Major was sum-
moned by writ on May 7, 1832, as Baron Berners.
I also noticed a small portrait, a profile of Henry V.,
and over the fireplace a large picture in three com-

^ Susanna, daughter of Henry William Wilson, of Didlington,
Dunty Norfolk, Married, first, Williami Russell, of Slubbers,
* iCounty Essex ; second, Rev- Roger Keddington*

15—2

228 ELERS MEMOIRS

partments, very old, in antique carved frame, a
Scripture piece — a knight kneeling at the feet of the
Virgin, his helmet at his feet, his shield and arms
emblazoned and also elevated on a tree, like a target
There were other paintings, but these were the most
remarkable. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms was a
fine Vandevelde, representing a ship of war, and in
the long old gallery was an escutcheon of the arms
of one of the old Dukes of Norfolk. The second
Lord Bemers in 1485 married Lady Catherine
Howard. The old Major was descended in the
female line from Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of
Gloucester. He very seldom mentioned his Royal
descent, but one day after dinner he showed me his
long and illustrious pedigree, and gave me an enter-
taining anecdote of what occurred to him one night
after dinner at the Duke of Rutland's at Belvoir
Castle. The Duke happened to say he was de-
scended from the Plantagenets, and bore the Royal
Arms in his shield. The old Major, who looked
like a plain country gentleman, said : ' I am also
descended from the Plantagenets, and can quarter
the Royal Arms too.' The company all stared, in-
credulous. However, he removed all doubt on the
subject by producing his pedigree the next time he
came to Belvoir Castle. The barony of Bemers is
one of the oldest in the peerage, there not being
above six more ancient. His manners and dress
were simple and unaffected. He was always clean
in his person and linen, but his clothes before dinner

A WINDFALL

229

were of the oldest sort, often threadbare, and a hat
with part of the brim torn off. You would not pick
it off a dunghill He^ was formerly a Captain in the
4th Heavy Dragoons, and got, I think, his rank of
Major from commanding a troop of Yeomanry
Cavalry ; he was afterwards made a Lieutenant-
Colonel,

A singular piece of good luck befell him while he
was quartered at the Swan Inn» Bedford, which he
related to me. One morning, sitting at breakfast, a
lawyer was announced, his pockets stuffed out with
parchment deeds, etc, * Sir, is your name Wilson,
of Didlington in Norfolk ?' ' Yes, sir/ * Then, sir,
I have come here to inform you that your namesake,
Mr. Wilson of Allexton Hall, in Leicestershire, has
died and left you his heir to everything he has in the
world — ;^7o,ooo in the Funds and his estates in
Leicestershire, which bring in above j^5,ooo per
annum/ The Major took it very coolly. He said
he had not the pleasure of knowing his namesake.
In the course of the day he got post-horses and went
over to Mrs. Russeirs at Stubbers, in Essex. * Ah,
Robert,* she said, ' this is an unexpected pleasure/
He never opened his lips about his good fortune till
he had made an impression upon Ats second hotlle of
port, when he said, * Mr. Wilson of Allexton has
left me all his estates,' and this was all he said on the
subject. Upon this good fortune he gave each of
his brothers and sisters ^3.000, and I think he had
' Appointed Lieutenant in the 4ih Dragoons 1778.

230

ELERS MEMOIRS

altogether six of them. He was very kind
generous to his brothers and sisters, and, when he
took it into his head» to persons in distress ; but 1
have known him to be very careful in casting up a
bill at an inn, making you pay your share to the very
sixpence. He once gave to a servant-girl at a
country town what he thought was a one-pound note*
It was after dinner. The next day the girl took it
to a shop to buy a gown. The girl thought it was a
one-pound note, and when the man began to question
her where she had got the fifty-pound note, for such
It was, the poor girl began to stain mer and blush,
and was at last obliged to confess the Major had given
it to hen The Major was sent for. He confessed
he had given her the note by mistake, but desired
that it might be restored to her, and bade her keep it.
I used to be very fond of attending the racing
stables and seeing the horses take their gallops, and
I sometimes rode them ; but it was very fatiguing.
He had a trainer very little better than a ploughman,
but his horses were so good that he very often won.
When I first knew him he had a horse called
Juniper, an extraordinary animal. He had been badly
ridden at first, and had got a habit of swerving just
at the end of the race. He bought this horse's dam
for ;^I50, and her colt was the horse called Juniper,
thrown into the bargain. This was nearly his debut
on the turf, and being so successful induced him to
breed and run horses. He refused 3,000 guineas
for Juniper. I recollect one summer starting with

STAMFORD RACES

231

him for Stamford races, and we took Huntingdon
and Peterborough on our way. We travelled across
the country in a buggy, and he sent his running
horses on before — I think there were three to run at
these three races. We were very successful, and we
were entertained by Sir Arthur Hazlerigg at Nosely
Hall, County Leicester, where I saw two lovely
Vandykes — Charles L, and Henrietta Maria*
We stayed there two days, and then went to Colonel
and Mrs. Crump at AUexton Hall, she being his
sister at Stamford. We had race dinners at the
George Inn, and Lord Exeter was the steward, and
brought over a large party from Burleigh, I visited
the Countess of Lindsey at Uffington, and in the
evening I went to the rooms and danced with Lady
Anna Maria Sherard and the two Miss Fludyers —
both married after, one to the Earl of Onslow, the
other to Lord Brownlow. Sir John Trollope intro-
duced me, and said they would make capital wives.
They were very amiable and very accomplished.

We afterwards went to Blatherwycke Park.
Mr. O'Briens, and visited his brother-in-law,
Mr. Hodgkin, at Tixoven We returned home
across the country by the Isle of Ely. Wisbech, and
so to Downham in Norfolk. During our supper one
night at the George at Stamford^ Sir William
Mansell and Sir William Twysden sent in their
compliments, inviting us to supper upon stewed
carp. We went in after supper. Mansell and I
played backgammon^ and Twysden and the Major at

232 ELERS MEMOIRS

the elegant game of all fours. The two baronets
beat us both, but we did not suffer much.

On our arrival at Didlington, after all these
gaieties, it appeared so lovely — the smooth, trans-
parent lake, the fish sporting about, the freshness
and scent of the flowers, the nightingale singing in
the evening, the herons flying home from their daily
fishing in Lincolnshire ; and the universal stillness
all around proved a delightful contrast to the busy
scene we had just left. I remember one day, just
before dinner, we went out on the banks of the lake
just for ten minutes to try our luck with our rods
and lines. We had not been at this long before the
butler came to announce that dinner was on the
table. We laid down our rods on the grass, leaving
the lines in the water. We went to dinner, and,
according to custom, we drank our usual allow-
ance — three bottles. We then took a turn in the
garden and so on to the lake ; coming to the spot
where we left our rods, we found that they were
gone, and saw them floating upon the water in
different directions. We called to the butler, and
requested him to strip and fetch them out. But he
had unluckily a bad cold, and begged to be excused.
' Where are the two other men-servants ?' said the
Major. They were out in the village, and he was
sure they would decline. ' Where are all the stable
boys ?' They were all gone to bed. So at last the
Major and myself were obliged to strip and swim
into the middle of the lake for them, and were

HAWKING

233

rewarded by landing two noble pike< We then ran

in undressed to the house, and got some brandy-and-
water to prevent our catching cold.

The Major kept hawks and two falconers, who once
lived with Louis» King of Holland, and before that
with Colonel Thornton in Yorkshire, and I was
present when they recognised their old master. We
used to fly at the herons as they came home^ in the
evening singly from the fens in Lincolnshire. We
used to go to a large field called Cranwick Field, a
mile or more from their roost. The flight of the
hawks was extremely interesting. The hawk saw the
herons an immense way off. He flew off the falconer s
fist and took an opposite direction, and if the wind
favoured him, pursued the poor heron, who would
mount high up in the air, the hawk after him, nearly
out of sight He would return rapidly to the earth,
and the hawk and heron came down together to the
ground, the poor heron screaming and mortally
stricken. Flying at magpies produces great sport
The magpie, the most cunning of all the feathered
tribe and most diflicult to kill* never attempted to
fly away, but would fall amidst the horsemen, and
would dodge and hop about under the horses,
frequently escaping that way. They would sometimes
pretend to lie dead under the feet of the horses, and
would thus escape. The poor partridges had a much
worse chance. They would cry out when struck by
the hawk and excite great pity. I am very fond of
^ Probably from the heronry at Cre&sy Hall in Surfleet*

234 ELERS MEMOIRS

sport and of coursing a hare ; but directly she is
caught her cries are exactly like those of a newly-
born infant, and I then wish myself a hundred
miles off.

We had, when I was with my regiment, officers
fond of cock-fighting, and it is much practised in
parts of the East, particularly among the Malays,
who will stake their wives, children, and even their
own liberty upon the event of a battle. I had a
man belonging to my company who perfectly under-
stood the training and healing of cocks, and I have
seen many mains fought, but always with great pain ;
to see brave animals destroying themselves for the
amusement of man is great cruelty.

The Major was treated with great respect by his
servants, but I saw one night a curious scene
between him and an old — a very old — gardener,
who had lived with his father and had known the
Major from a boy. The Major was very fond of
strawberries, and one day after dinner he fell in
with the venerable old gardener toddling about.

* Why don't you let me have more strawberries ?'
•You have enough.* 'But I will have more.*

* I tell you you Aave enough^ and I would not let
your old father have more if he was here.' The old
gardener thought he was still talking to little Master
Wilson fifty years back. The Major did not dispute
the point further, but turned away smiling.

The old family seat of my friend John Vernon
was situated in the small village of Nacton, about

ORWELL PARK

235

four miles from Ipswich. The mansion was built
of red brick, and I think by the famous Admiral
Vernon,^ his great-uncle, who * took Porto Bello
with six ships only/ Afterwards Mr, Vernon's
uncle, who was Earl of Shipbrook and Baron
Orwell, lived here. My friend John had a long
minority, and his guardians let the mansion, gardens,
and park with deer to the Earl of Beverley for the
small sum of five or six hundred per annum, and his
estates were let on long leases at very small rents.
When I became intimate with him in 1808 the
leases were nearly run out, which increased his
income from three to eight thousand a year. The
front of this large house lost much of its grandeur
by low white palings running all round it. the
domestic offices, stabling, etc., which gave it a
cockney fied appearance ; at least, so it seemed to
me. But the back of the house was lovely — a lawn,
sloping to the river Orwell ; on the right a small
park, and on the left the park and house of Sir
Philip Broke, the brave commander of the Shannon,
who with that vessel took the American frigate the
Chesapeake. The house was comfortable but old-
fashioned, and I have spent some pleasant days
there* But he soon after parted with this old
family seat to his brother-in-law, Sir Robert
Harland, and received in exchange a modern-built
mansion called Wherstead Lodge, on the other side

* Edward, Admiral Vernon, was born in 1684, and died in
1757. He capitulated Portobello in 1739.

236 ELERS MEMOIRS

of the Orwell, within two miles of Ipswich. Sir
Robert was, in fact, distressed for money. Mr.
Vernon was very fond of game, and Wherstead
comprised wood and land in a ring fence of upwards
of 5,000 acres, while Orwell Park and the land
round it was little more than 400 acres.

When Admiral Vernon bought estates in Suffolk,
he purchased land wherever he could possibly get
it, and he had small farms all over Suffolk of from
100 to 200 acres. He had also a fine estate and
house on the borders of Cambridgeshire called
Thurlow Hall. One day the Duke of Cambridge
was at Sir Robert's shooting, and the Duke said :
* If I could afford it I would buy Wherstesid Lodge.'
I believe that first put it into the head of John
Vernon to exchange houses. As I said before, Sir
Robert was in want of ready money, and John
Vernon had none, but had many small farms
scattered about with which he wished to part. He
accordingly got ^80,000 on mortgage, for which he
was to pay 5 per cent. This sum he gave Sir
Robert, who was put into possession of Orwell Park,
whilst Mr. Vernon got Wherstead. This was
about 181 2, in the height of the war, when com
sold so high and estates let so well.

In 18 1 5 the peace came; rents and the price of
land fell. Vernon was paying 5 per cent, for the
money he borrowed, while his land did not fetch
him above 2^ per cent. Poor fellow! he died in
1818; and, had he lived, he would doubtless have

MR. JOHN VERNON

237

been a very distressed man. He left his estates to
Lady Harland for her life, and after her to his
cousin, the present Sir Thomas Cullum, and after
him, if he died without male issue, to his cousin,
Mr. Jenkins. / witnessed his will, and old Sir
Thomas said to me : * I am sorry to hear you say
that, for you have got no legacy.' Poor Vernon
was a kind-hearted man, but had no strong sense.
He was easily led away, and had no opinion of his
own, or if he had was easily made to give it up —
that is, in some instances. He was very suspicious
of being cheated or imposed upon by his servants ;
it used to break his heart when he saw a great
leathern * Black Jack,' as they call it in the country,
going to the beer cellar. * God bless my soul !' he
used to say, ' that great ** Black Jack " is always on
the road to the cellar and the servants* hall, Taylor*
This was the name of his valet and butler, who
came to him without a second coat a few years
before, and when Vernon died had bought farms
to the amount of ;^ 10,000, He gave him the key
of his wine cellar, which contained wine to the
amount of ;^5,ooo. But I often heard Vernon was
sorry he had ever done this, Vernon used to set
his man to watch that he was not cheated out of a
jug of ale by a poor labourer, when he was cheated
of hundreds by this very fellow, or how could he
have been possessed of the money wherewith to buy
the estates which he purchased } Vernon always
said to me : * It is better to be cheated by one than

238

ELERS MEMOIRS

by many/ He little thought the extent to which he
was plundered by that one.

The house at Wherstead was a modem one.
The windows and doors were all cut down to the
ground, and looked upon a lawn interspersed with
flowers and shrubs, surrounded with covers full of
game and overlooking the river Orwell The
pheasants and hares used to sport before the windows
as we were at breakfast and dinner. The hall was
light and elegant, and a flight of freestone steps on
either side of it led up to the bedrooms, the double
doors of which were faced with scarlet cloth, and the
wainscots and wall were white picked out with a
very light blue. There was a drawing-room fitted
up lightly and elegantly with a beautiful Indian
paper, pier-glasses to the ground. Florence vases and
female figures were placed on the stands opposite the
pier-glasses. They were of the purest alabaster, and
were reflected back from the mirrors. A dining-room
was the next room to this, of exactly the same shape
and dimensions. Over the chimney-piece was a
whole-length portrait of Admiral Vernon in the
identical coloured coat that obtained for him the
sobriquet of * Old Grog * by his sailors. It was
what in those days was called a grogram colour.
He considered that the sailors* drinking raw spirits
was prejudicial to their health, and insisted that their
rum should be mixed two-thirds with water, which
has gone by the name of grog in the Navy ever
after There was also another portrait of him in the

WHERSTEAD LODGE

239

'costume of a Turkish Admiral. These were the
principal portraits in this room. There was a small
room, called the Armour)% and beyond that the
library, where Vernon and I used to dine when by
ourselves. Opposite the library was a sort of state
drawing-room fitted up with a maroon paper, very
rich, with silk curtains to correspond and gold
mouldings. This room was filled with fine old
portraits of the reigns of William and Mary and
Anne, Mn Vernon's ancestor was Secretary of
State to King William, and guided his hand in
signing the Act of Settlement when he was dying*
His uncle, General Vernon, left him a beautiful
Venus by Titian^ which was partly concealed by a
green silk curtain. Vernon also had a bad copy of
the Danae in his bedroom. I heard the late Sir
William Rowley offer Vernon ^1,500 for the Venus.
Vernon, when he made his will, left about ^20,000
among his cousins; but the estate being strictly
entailed, and there being no ready money to pay the
legacies, the legatees have never benefited one six-
pence by the bequest. Beyond this drawing-room
was a commodious bath.

So fond was Vernon of the preservation of his
game that it must have cost him ^1,000 a
year. At his grand battues I have seen a hundred
brace of pheasants killed, and fifty brace of
hares, besides partridges, woodcocks, rabbits, etc.
The Duke of Cambridge passed two or three days
at Wherstead when I was staying there. He was

240 ELERS MEMOIRS

delighted with the sport, and as soon as he fired
both barrels his German y^r placed a fresh loaded
gun in his hands.

The Duke had a narrow escape of being shot by
an old German Baron of the name of Linsengen, a
favourite of all the Royal Family. He was near
eighty years of age and almost blind. He was very
careless, and always walked with his gun cocked.
We were all advancing in line to spring woodcocks.
A woodcock got up close to the General and flew
down the line. The General fired, and the bird fell
dead at the feet of the Duke. 'Well done, man
Ginirair cried H.R.H.

CHAPTER XV

Brettenham Park — A disputed succession — Lord Salisbury^ — Lady
Mary Beauclerk*s flirtation^ — A supposed son of the Prince of
Wales — ^^400 lost on one card — * My lord ' for one day —
A marriage after six refusals — A billiard match — A Jacobean
house — An accomplished woman — Kean the actor — Mrs.
Keeley — Kerrison, * the honest miller* — ^A martinet— A
groom's tricks.

Among the most intimate friends of Vernon was
George Wen y eve of Brettenham Park, about fifteen
miles from Orwell Park. He was younger than
Vernon, but they were both Eton boys, and George
Wenyeve was fond of preserving and shooting,
Wenyeve asked me to come over with Vernon and
spend a few days to shoot at Brettenham. A pair
of posters were put to Vernon s carriage, and I sat
on the box of the carriage. Going through Ipswich
the box gave way, and I was thrown under the
horses and my knee under the fore-wheel of the
carriage. The boy pulled up directly he heard the
crack of the springs or I should have inevitably been
killed ; as it was I could not get my leg from under
the wheel till the boy backed the carriage,

Brettenham was an old-fashioned house, a poor
t 241 ] 16

242 ELERS MEMOIRS

park, and in a heavy country ; but it had been in
the family of the Wenyeves from the time of the
Saxons, and they were, without any mistake, the
oldest family in the county of Suffolk. George at
this time (1809) was about twenty-nine- His (mm
sister, Henrietta, lived with him, and a natural
sister, married to a Mr. Marrie, managed his farm for
him, and they lived all together.

Mr. Marrie was a Lieutenant in the Marines, and
picked up his wife at Yarmouth, and afterwards,
during George's minority, managed the Bretten-
ham property for him, which, I believe, did not
exceed ;^2,ooo a year. But he had a good cellar
of wine, very fine carp and tench in the old ponds,
plenty of game, and the finest peaches and nectarines
I ever ate. So that a man would not be quite
starved in a week here. Poor George caught his
death about two years after that. We were out
shooting one very hot day in September, and he
threw himself under a tree very much heated, and
lay there till the servants brought out luncheon from
the house. He caught a violent cold and nearly
lost the use of his limbs, and died about 181 2. The
world thought, of course, that his sister, born like
himself in wedlock, would have succeeded to the
estate that had been in the family for centuries ; but
a will was found by the Marries declaring that he
left the estate to be divided between the two sisters.
Soon after her brother's death Miss Wenyeve
married Colonel John Carnac, of the Life Guards,

MR. LEVESON VERNON

243

who, having a taste for law, disputed the will. I
say having a taste for law, as 1 have heard he was
originally brought up to that profession. The
Colonel employed a friend of his and mine, a
Mr. Lovett, a barrister^ but they could make nothing
of it ; nothing could shake the validity of the will,
though the Colonel more than insinuated that the
will was forged.

Vernon one day took me down to some friends of
his living at Aldborough, on the coast, a Mr. and !
Mrs. Prior Johnson. There we stayed some ten
days. They had also a good house at a place called
Bosmere, about seven miles from Ipswich, on the
road to Bury, This house they rented of Sir
William Middleton. They were hospitable and
amiable, and Johnson did the honours of his house
in the most superior way. While staying there
Lord Salisbury gave a ball and supper. His lordship
was very droll and entertaining, fond of telling stories
and making you laugh. I also met at my friend
Johnsons a Mr, Leveson Vernon, brother to the
celebrated Lady Grosvenon He was a great oddity.
He lay in bed all the day, and about eleven o'clock
at night would commence his /;ie?rw/«^ calls, previous
to beating up his covers and shooting at twelve
o'clock at night. He had some good estates in the
neighbourhood of Aldborough, There is no doubt
my friend Vernon and he ^ were sprung originally

* Both descended from the Veraons of Haslington : John
Vernon in ihc male line, I^veson Vernon in the female.

16^ — 2

244 ELERS MEMOIRS

from the same ancestors, and as he had no heir,
I have heard my friend John Vernon say he should
not be surprised if one day he left him his estates.
John had estates and good shooting near the town of
Aldborough, called Knodgill, where we used to shoot
He had an old keeper there who had but one arm.

In this neighbourhood, at Saxmundham, lived
Mr. Dudley North, Lady Hyde Parker, Lady Sarah
Bailey, and also the Crespignys of Aldborough ; so
there was no want of society, and we formed many
pleasant parties. About this time I recollect seeing
Lady Mary Beauderk/ daughter of the Duke of
St. Albans, at one of our balls at Ipswich. She
was living at Lord Dysart's, at his seat at Helming-
ham, and had a fortune of ;^ 100,000. Lord Dysart
had a corps of volunteers that used to be drilled in
his park, and a litde officer of the name of Saunders,
a subaltern in the Derby Regiment of Militia, was
sent over for that purpose. This little man, who
looked ver)- young, had a wife and two children.
Lord Dysart asked him to dine at his table, and 1
am not certain but that he slept in the house. Lady
Mar)' was quite young, not seventeen, when she
used to walk with Saunders in the park and gave
him every encouragement. But wishing to know
as much of him as she could, she employed her maid,
who got hold of a very material part of his history :

' She was daughter of the sixth Duke of St Albans by his first
wife, Miss Moses. He married, secondly, 1802, Louisa Grace,
daughter of John Manners and Louisa, Countess of Dysart

A SON OF THE PRINCE

245

that he was already married and had two children.
This effectually put a stop to her flirtation. She
afterwards, in iSii, ran away with Lord Deerhurst.
All the world knows how badly this match turned
out, and Lord Deerhurst has no one to thank but
himself.

When I was not with my friend Vernon 1 gener-
ally lived a good deal with the loth. There was a
nice handsome little man of the name of Captain
Derby. He was the son of a niece of Lady Lade»
and her sister was the Countess of Barrymore ;^ it
was whispered that he was the son of the Prince of
Wales. The Prince got him a writership in Bengal
Sir John Lade would not let him go. The writer-
ship the Prince eventually gave to Mrs. Siddons'
son, whom I saw at Calcutta, It is a very re-
markable trait of the Prince that whenever he was
fond of a man or took an interest in him, he was
sure lo get him sent abroad, perhaps to keep him out
of mischief and temptation, and he (the Prince) con-
fessed this to a friend of mine. Lieutenant-ColoneF
Palmer commanded the regiment, Lord Charles and
Robert Manners were the two Majors, Quintin,
Lord William Somerset, Goddard and Robarts, the
bankers son, had troops. The handsome Count
de Grammont, Bowen, Hon. Francis Stanhope,
Williams, Fitzgerald, Simeon, etc., were subalterns,

I Lady Lade is described as * Mrs. Smith ' before her marriage
with Sir John Lade, of sporting celebrity. The Countess of
Barrymore was Anne, daughter of Jeremiah Coghlan*

z^ ELEBS MEMODES

Ot =xe Ttti HuasHs I roaoexniier Kemsotu Denshire,
Lov»ace. TmnrnTT. Lamlcf. PiRjfaiii,^ Waldegrave,
OificwTii. rsc (X dxe c^dt Dragooos were Felton
H«-rr^ Xaicr. iiid Coftoad Talboc Hovcy lost
ML mr. imi Taibi^c was k3Ied ni tfac PeniosiiIaL Of
rie z-ci Dragjnciis. Major Peffiey^ Lofd CEntoo and
EeOi Caccmzs : f.mmfai Scanhope. a Ma}or on the
Sort -JTCL Ge!ix3al Caaaa. and various others I
caancc r^ccilecc I wis *xi oerms of intiniacy with
jH :c rrese wt!»::ar I cave namrd We used to play
hdiiirfs in oe cfay and cards at n^fat The high
ahkytrs w^ire Henrw. Lord ClintDO. and BdlL The
g:a33e w:ss cirieiT wrtist.

I reneahcr oce nagirt I was the partner of Lord
CIr=.rcc. wriea I had ocly two cards remaining in my
ht-'i, Tbe nbcer depended on my playing the
pr:cer cird. It wis ill a chance, and, unfortunately,
I cLltoi the wr?c:^ oce. It made a difierence to
Lori Clirroc or ^'-t»:x?. He never scolded, only
pc: his hoLnd to his head. It was no feiult of mine,
for the chances were equal I beg leave to explain
tha.1 I W3S r.*x playing for these high stakes* not
more than ^jinea points : quite high enough if you
had a bad rjo. I recollect full well this night we
played all night long, and until Lord Clinton s vis-d-
zrs came to the door of the WTiite Horse Inn with
four posters to take us the first stage to London. It
was a dark morning in the month of November.
His lordship and I mounted the box, and the snow
^ Afterwards drort the Reading cotch ! — Note by the Author.

PLAYING THE LORD

247

was on the ground. At Stratford the boy on the
leaders fell, and had a narrow escape of being killed.
His lordship's own horses were put to here to be
driven by him, and as he was dressed exactly like a
common coachman — drab coat, red plush waistcoat^
and corduroy smalls — and I like a gentleman, it was
agreed between us that I should play the lord, and I
got ' my lorded ' all the way to Chelmsford, where
the Honourable Captain Lygon, the present Earl
Beauchamp, joined us at dinner. Here we slepti
and got to Stephens's at four o'clock, where we all
dined* There we saw Lincoln Stanhope, who gave
us the news of his brother Fitz-Roy's^ marriage with
Miss Wyndham, the daughter of my dear old friend
Mrs. Hodges. I only stayed two days in town.

About this time Mr. William Pole^ was an Ensign
in the Suffolk Regiment of Militia. I soon knew
him, and became intimate with him from knowing
his uncles. This young gentleman had just returned
from Russia, and was sent as an Ensign into the
Suffolks to keep him out of mischief. He was about
twenty-one, very wild, but I did not think him half
so clever then as he has since proved At that time
he had five hunters, some of which I used to ride.
When his uncle went to Portugal he went on his
staff, and was present at the Battle of Vimiera,

* The Hon. and Rev. Fiu-Roy Stanhope married Caroline,
natural daughter of the Hon. Charles Wyndham.

* The well-known ' William Pole Tylney Long VVellesley,* after-
wards fourth Earl of Mornington.

24? ELERS MEMOIRS

He came home azid one day as he lay in bed he
began lo cooader what he should do. He was in
debt and difficulties. A sudden thoi^ht struck him.
His aocher was on terms of great intimacy with
Lady Catherine Long, the mother of the rich heiress.
He wrote to his mamma, and conjured her to do all
in her power of putting him in Miss Long s company.
He proposed six times and was refused. The Duke
of Clarence at this time was besieging Miss Long,
and to get rid of him she at last accepted Wellesley.
He had fought a duel for her with Lord Kil worth,
and that might have somewhat to do in his favour.

Among the oflScers of the 7th Hussars was a
Baron Schemedem : he thought he could play at
billiards, and gave me a challenge. We agreed to
play eleven games. I was backed to win, but I lost
the first five games. The officers who had backed
me all left the table, thinking I must be beaten.
But I won the six games running, and won my
match and the ten guineas I was playing for.
The Baron played another match, and lost that
also.

It was at Mr. Vernon's that I first met Viscount
Clermont, who came over to dine and shoot at a
grand battue. 1 afterwards met him at a hawking-
party with my old friend Major Wilson. Another
very near neighbour of the Major's was John
Merest, Esq., of Linford Hall, who married
Vernon s cousin, Miss Jenkins. Merest had a fine
estate in the Isle of Ely — good, rich land, which he

SUFFOLK SOCIETY

249

sold for ;^ioo an acre, and he bought Linford for
about ;!^8o,ooo, merely for the sporting. A great
deal of the land was not worth half a crown an acre,
being so very light. In fact, his ;^8o,chdo did not
yield him more than 2 per cent.» and hardly that
He got into Parliament Then he let his house to
the Earl of Shannon, and, I believe» finally sold it,
and has lost so much money that I understand he
has become a clergyman. Fortunately he has no
family. I won twenty guineas of him upon the
famous battle between Crib and Molyneux.

Another neighbour of Major Wilson's was Lord
Mountjoy, afterwards Earl of Blessington. He
rented Oxburgh, the seat of Sir Henry Bedingfield^
of that old Catholic family. It was afterwards let
to the Marquess of Ormonde. We had also at
Northwold, within a mile, Admiral Manby, with his
pretty little wife and their two lovely daughters. The
Admiral w^as, or rather had been, very handsome,
and his name was mixed up with that of the Princess
of Wales among many others. A few years since
one of the Miss Manbys married a Mr. Dawes, a
nephew of the celebrated Madame Feuch^res, who
was suspected to have shortened the life of the
Duke of Bourbon.

Among the families at Ipswich from whom I
received much kind attention was that of Mr. Fon-
nereau,^ of Christ Church Park. The Rev, Charles

* Rev, Charles William Fonnereau, born 1764. Lieutenant of
the Conqueror under Admiral Rodney, 1782. Died 1840,

250 ELERS MEMOIRS

Fonnereau had been a Lieutenant in the Navy, and
served in that rank in Lord Rodney's victory over
the French in 1782. Christ Church Park is situated
in the town of Ipswich. You enter the premises by
a small gate for foot passei^ers into a garden, the
path of which leads up to a large, old-fashioned
red-brick house, of the architecture of James I.
It is to me quite a pleasure to view this old family
antiquity. You enter the house by a small porch ;
on each side are worm-eaten wooden seats. There
is a fine old hall, round which runs a gallery, both
hall and gallery full of old portraits of the reign
of Elizabeth and James. The house, like all the
houses of that day, is low, and the rooms are
generally small, and you have continually, in enter-
ing the rooms, to go up and down a couple of
steps. I have observed this at Burleigh and also at
Helmingham. At the back of the house lies the
park with deer, and avenues of very fine oak and
elm trees. I do not know whether it is a favour
granted by the proprietor or as a matter of right,
but the inhabitants enter Mr. Fonnereau's grounds
at any time and at all seasons, passing close to the
mansion house on their way to the park, and on a
fine summer's evening, and particularly of a Sunday,
it is crowded like Kensington Gardens.

PVom Colonel Stisted, of an old Suffolk family,
I received much kind attention, as also from
Admiral Page, who served in the East Indies, while
I was there, in the Caroline frigate. There was

KEAN AND MRS. KEELEY

251

also a remarkably clever woman, the wife of a rich
brewer of the name of Cobbold, who lived at the
extremity of the town, at a place called The Cliff.
She was a poetess, paintress, and a great patroness
of talent and merit wherever she found it. And
although she was not visited by the higher circles of
the county, yet everyone knew her for her talents
and respected hen She was very fond of patronizing
the theatre, and all the profession that were de-
serving of recognition, either from their character
or their talents ; and here I met and dined with the
celebrated tragedian Mr. Kean, who took me in his
carriage to dinner with her and back to the theatre
that evening, where he played Hamlet. We were
both staying at the White Horse Inn. The
present Mrs. Keeley, the clever actress, was brought
up by Mrs, Cobbold I recollect her as a little girl
who used to come into the rooms, her arms and
hands crossed over each other ; she would then drop
a profound curtsey to the company, sit down on the
music-stool, and commence her morning's lessons on
the piano. Her father was an honest whitesmith in
Ipswich of the name of Goward. I little thought
that this shy little girl would have turned out such
a clever actress* I have heard that her husband,
Keeley. made his first appearance at the Surrey
Theatre, and on his debut before the audience got
so alarmed that he fairly ran off the stage, and did
not appear any more that night* Mrs. Cobbold
always gave a grand f6te and supper on Valentine s

252 ELERS MEMOIRS

Day to all the young peo|de of Ipswich. I re-
member meeting there Major Kerrison, of the 7th
Hussars.

Major Kerrison was the son of an honest miller
in Suffolk. He was immensely rich, but dressed
quite homely, and was of simple manners ; he wore
blue yam stockings, thick shoes and silver buckles,
corduroy smalls, a long waistcoat with flaps, and a
drab coat. He intended his son to be brought up
to his own trade, but young Kerrison would be a
Dragoon. His father would not hear of iL At
last young K. threatened to enlist, when some
friends of his who took an interest in his welfare
spoke very seriously to his father, and advised him
to purchase a cometcy for his son. The old man
was at last prevailed upon, and a cometcy was
purchased in the 7th Hussars, under Lord Paget.
Kerrison was universally beloved and respected by
everj'body. He has proved himself to be one of the
best cavalry officers in the Service, has got a regi-
ment, a baronetcy, an estate in Norfolk of no less
than ;^40,ooo per annum — all acquired by his father,
the honest miller — is the father-in-law of two peers
of the realm,^ and is a member of Parliament.

A friend of mine told me a very laughable story.
One day K.'s father wrote to him to say he would
pay him a visit at Ipswich, where his regiment was

^ The writer might have said thru * peers of the realm.' Sir
Edward Kerrison's daughters married respectively Lord Henniker,
Lord Stanhope, and Lord Bateman.

SIR SAMUEL FLUDYER

253

quartered. Poor Kerrison was ready to expire, for
fear of being quizzed by the dashing young officers
of the 7th at his rich fathers homely appearance.
He took ilight and sought refuge at the house of
my friend forty miles off, and wrote to his father
that he had gone away on duty,

I remember we had a very pleasant party staying
with us at my friend Mr, Vernon's. Among the
company was Sir Samuel Fludyer, whom I informed
that I knew him when I was a very little boy at
Colonel Moncktons» at Fineshade Abbey, North-
amptonshire. Sir Samuel said he lived on the
borders of that county still, and in the same house
ever since» and made me promise I would come
down to Uffington House, which he rented for many
I years of the Duke of Ancaster, and afterwards of
the Earl of Lindsey. It ts within a short distance
of Stamford, whither Sir Samuel sent his carriage
to meet me. He was a staunch fox-hunter, and I
used to go out with him with Lord Lonsdale's
hounds. Lady V, was fond of playing battledore
and shuttlecock, and we one day kept up the game
upwards of one thousand without the shuttlecock
falling to the ground, a feat I never before witnessed.
Sir Samuel lived in very good style, and we went
ov^er to Mr. Tryon's at Bui wick Hall, where I
thought of the days long since gone. I stayed three
weeks with Sir Samuel, and then returned to my
old quarters. The annual races in July never
arrived, but I regretted the loss of my beautiful

254 ELERS MEMOIRS

Eclipse racing mare. I make not the smallest doubt
I should have won the King's Plate, for the horses in
general were not very good, and when a good one
did come he was sure to win. Juniper, I remember,
won the Kings Plate here, but he was a first-rate
horse. I had a very fine and fast-trotting pony,
what they call a true Suffolk cob. When Wedder-
burne Webster won his celebrated match of riding
on one horse from Ipswich to Whitechapel Church,
which is sixty-nine miles, this little pony accom-
panied him for twenty miles, ridden by Captain
Derby, of the loth, whose property he then was.
Webster performed the distance within five hours,
and won a very large sum — near ;^2,ooo. I had at
this time a beautiful gray mare that I drove in a
buggy — a very light one ; she was also a most de-
lightful saddle-horse, so extremely easy. She was
all but thoroughbred, and would have made a com-
plete lady's horse. I lost this delightful animal by an
accident soon after. I bought her of a Mr. Morant,
of the Somersetshire Militia, for the small sum of forty
guineas. He had volunteered for the 29th Regiment,
and was soon after killed storming St. Sebastian.

About this time it was our ill-luck to have a general
officer sent down to Ipswich by the name of Acland.
He pretended to be a great martinet, and his great
delight was to make everybody uncomfortable and
miserable, under the pretence of zeal for His Majesty's
Service. The poor unfortunate officers in command
of regiments were harassed to death by this tyrant

STOWMARKET

255

inspecting their accounts and looking into the men's
knapsacks^ and going round the men's barracks, and
poking his nose into every hole and corner, en-
deavouring to discover something to find fault with*
He was universally detested. At this iinie he had
nothing to do with me, as I was under the command
of the inspecting field officer. Sir William Aylett,
early in 1810, which was about the time we were
cursed with his hated presence.

Soon after this period I was ordered with my
recruiting party to Stowmarket, distant from Ipswich
twelve miles. Great indeed was my regret at being
banished from all my gay friends at Ipswich. I had
spent four years of uninterrupted pleasure and happi-
ness. These four years were certainly the happiest
years of my life, taken altogether. The only person
I knew near Stowmarket was Roger Pettiward,
Esq,,^ of Finborough Park, a friend of Mr. Vernon's.
I took up my quarters at the King's Head, and all
the amusement I now had was my two horses, a
brace of pointers, fishing in a stream of water, and
amusing myself sometimes seeing the post-horses
changing on the road to and from Bury. My friend
Johnson lived about four miles off, at BosmerCp and
Sir William Middleton at Shrubland Hall, who gave
me a day's shooting, a good dinner, and a bed occa-
sionally ; a Mn Rust, the squire of the town, was
also very civil to me, and was very intimate with

' Roger Pettiward left his property in 1856 to a Mr. John
Bussell, who afisucncd the name and arms of Pettiward.

256 ELERS MEMOIRS

Sir John Shelley, who lived at Gipping, at a short
distance. There was also an old lawyer, of the
name of Marryot, who lived in a snug house in the
town. He also invited me to his house, and gave
me leave to shoot all over his grounds. It is true
they were not very extensive, but I contrived to pick
up a brace of birds whenever I went out ; and the
farmers all around gave me leave to sport There
used to be a market dinner every Thursday for all
the respectable and substantial farmers in the
neighbourhood, and I used sometimes to dine
with them, and used to win their hearts by mixing
now and then with them. I could stand everything
but their smoking, and to that I had an unconquer-
able aversion.

I used also generally to ride into Ipswich once or
twice a week, sometimes sleeping there and at other
times returning on the same night. When I was
engaged this way the time passed pleasantly enough,
but when it happened that I passed the day, and
particularly the evening, alone at the King s Head,
I was quite ennuyd. Nothing to do, no books to
read, only the daily papers in the travellers' room,
redolent with smoke and the fumes of tobacco. I
got quite weary of this spiritless life, and asked for
a month's leave of absence. I got it, and went up
to London, taking with me my favourite mare and
buggy, and a very nice young man as a servant. I
had turned away my former servant a short time
before. He was in the habit of taking my horses

GROOMS' MISBEHAVIOUR

257

out early in the morning before I was up, and riding
them six miles off to a place called Grondisburgh,
returning a little before nine to bring up my boots
and hot water. The way I found this out was by
going into the stable one morning before breakfast
and finding a large, heavy horse bathed in sweat, the
saddle not taken off, all over dirt and mire» smoking
away. On that morning or the day after he proved
dead lame ; I was obliged to turn him out to grass
for six months. The horse never got sound again,
and I was obliged to sell him as a post-horse for
;^28. This horse had cost me fifty guineas a few
weeks before he was lamed.

My friend Vernon lost a little blood thoroughbred
horse just about this time from the ill-usage of one
of his grooms. He was found in the stable with his
fetlock broken in two. and had to be destroyed, My
friend Mr. Johnson was served the following trick by
a groom. Bosmere, where he lived, was about
sixteen or eighteen miles from Bury. He and Mrs,
Johnson went over in their carriage, and their groom
rode a valuable thoroughbred horse got by Sorcerer,
The groom returned with them, and had got nearly
home when he missed his watch, which he had left
at the inn by accident ; he turned back to the inn full
gallop, and returned home, the horse dead lame,
having gone thirty-six miles in a short time. Such
were the tricks which in those days servants played
their masters, and I dare say they are not, many of
them, much better now.

CHAPTER XVI

Young the tragedian — Kitty Stephens — A carriage accident —
Dr. Andrews' suicide— Ordered to Maldon — Major Elers'
death — Ill-luck in promotion — Maria Edgeworth— Sends in
his resignation — His engagement broken off— A blessing in

disguise.

I ARRIVED in town on the third day of my journey,
and put up at the New Hummums, Covent Garden.
At this time I was rather intimate with Mr. Charles
Young, the justly celebrated tragedian. I used to
drive him out, and he was quite delighted with the
beauty of my mare and her great spirit, combined
with great gendeness. Mr. Young at this time was a
perfect enthusiast in music, and used to accompany
himself on the piano and to sing Moore s melodies
charmingly. He had not much power in the upper
part of his voice, but the lower was deep and round,
and by singing with exquisite feeling he effected a
great deal more than many professional singers with
greater powers of voice.

I used about this time to meet Miss Stephens,
who visited his mother. She had just made her
great impression on the town as Polly in the
* Beggar's Opera.' I have heard Mrs. Young say :

[258]

KITTY STEPHENS

* Who would ever have thought that Kitty Stephens,
who I recollect used to carry a pint of porter
and cold meat for her fathers dinner through the
streets, should arrive at such fame and renown
as a singer ?' Miss Stephens' father was at first a
carpenter, and lived in some obscure place in the
vicinity of Lambeth. Lanza the music-master first
taught her to sing, but could make nothing of her.
Mr. Thomas Welsh afterwards took her under his
care, and made her the great singer she afterwards
became. On her first coming out I met the master
and his pupil in Long Acre, going to or returning
from Coven t Garden Theatre. He introduced me
to her, and I thought her then a very plain young
woman. I after used to meet her at Mrs. Young's,
who lived with her son Charles in Duchess Street,
Portland Place, just opposite her master, Mr. Welsh.
Great pains must have been taken with the
education of Miss Stephens after her d^but at
Covent Garden, for she has the most pleasing, lady-
like manners, and her handwriting (a great test of
the gentlewoman) is excellent. I had a relation of
my own so much smitten with her charms that he
made her an offer of marriage ; and I have in
my possession her answer refusing him, but in the
kindest and most amiable terms. My cousin was
always on great terms of friendship with her and her
brother, and they both spent some short time with
him at his house in Northamptonshire, a very short
time previous to his sudden death. As my cousin s

17-2

26o ELERS MEMOIRS

representative, I received a very friendly answer
from her to a letter of mine. I requested her to
mention whether I could send her anything of his
that she would like to have in remembrance of him.
She only asked for any book of his of little value.
I sent her a small set of plays from his library.
Miss Stephens used to live with her brother and her
niece, Miss Johnson, in a small house in Connaught
Terrace. She has ever borne an irreproachable
name, and has lately married the Earl of Essex,
who has for many years been much attached to her,
and who, on the death of his wife early this spring
(1838), shortly afterwards made her his Countess,
with a settlement equal to her rank. And long may
she live to enjoy it.^

I had the misfortune soon after my arrival in town
to meet with a very severe accident, in August, 181 1.
I had dined with two ladies at Barnes, the daughter
and granddaughter of my dear old friend Mrs.
Streatfield. The weather had been very sultry all
day, and as I entered Park Lane it rained in tor-
rents, with thunder and lightning, and dark as pitch.
This irritated my mare, and made her very impatient
to get home. The West Middlesex Waterworks
Company had taken up the centre of Oxford Street
near the Park, leaving a deep excavation and the
ground thrown up on each side. There was a
temporary rail thrown up, but the lanthorns were all
blown out by the tempest, so that it was impossible
^ She died February 22, 1882, aged eighty-seven.

A CARRIAGE ACCIDENT

261

to see your hand before you. I had proceeded
about twenty yards down the street, when my off-
wheel was raised upon the mound of earth. The
mare suddenly dashed forward, the gig turned over,
and I was pitched on to the pavement over my
servant^s shoulder; He was very lucky to escape
with a slight hurt, but I had dislocated my right
shoulder, and was cut severely about the face. The
shafts having broken, the mare ran away at full
speed for about 150 yards, when she was stopped
by a groom, who had happened to be crossing the
road, but not sufficiently arrested in her progress
to prevent her, on meeting with some iron rails,
attempting leaping over them. This she tried to do,
and the spikes entered her chest When, after a
minute or two, I had recovered from the shock, I
ran after my mare. I saw her lying motionless
and bleeding, and seeing there was no hope, and
to put her out of pain, I ordered her instantly to
be destroyed.

On returning back to the spot where the gig
lay broken to pieces, I found I could not raise
my right arm, and having been taken into a
surgeon*s close by, they discovered on examination
that my shoulder was dislocated* It was very soon
put in, and the accident having taken place so
recently it had not had time to swell, and the pain
was not very great, but quite enough. I afterwards
walked to Stratford Place, whence a gentleman's
carriage took me to Coven t Garden.

262

ELERS MEMOIRS

The next day very early in the morning I sent
a message to Charles Young to tell him of my
accident, as I was engaged to dine with him to meet
a musical party at his house, he having invited
Braham, Miss Stephens, and several others on
purpose to give me a musical treat At about nine
o'clock in the morning Young came down to see me,
and when he arrived I was not dressed or washed
after the accident, but was covered with blood-
Young did not say a word, but took off his coat and
tucked up his shirt-sleeves» ordered hot water, towels,
sponges, etc., and got me clean linen on, and made
me as comfortable as I could well be. He then
brought me a Dr. Andrews, a clever man, a friend
of his, and who was the medical man attached to
both the theatres, to see me, I was under his care
for about three weeks, when I went to Brighton,
nearly recovered from my wounds, and getting
better of the effects of the dislocation. Dr, Andrews
would not hear of any pecuniar)' recompense. This
excellent, kind-hearted man afterwards gave up all
his theatrical practice to live with Mr. and Mrs,
Coutts as their physician, and he there lost his
health by Mr. Coutts, who was so old and so chilly,
having his rooms kept up to eighty degrees of heat
He got leave to go down to Brighton for on€ week
only. He stayed one or two days over the time,
and on knocking at Mrs. Coutts' door in Stratton
Street, the servant told him Mrs. Coutts had no
further occasion for his services. Poor Andrews

MAJOR ELERS* DEATH

263

went home and destroyed himself. Mrs. Coutts*
feelings could not have been envied !

On my return from Brighton I proceeded to
Stowmarket, when I found my party were ordered
to Maldon Barracks in Essex. To that place I
repaired early in September, 181 1. Hitherto my
military life had been one unvaried scene of pleasure
and comfort, and I now look back with pride and
satisfaction upon the fact that I was esteemed by all
the commanding officers I had ever served under,
and never got the slightest censure from the Horse
Guards in all my various correspondence and com-
munications with them. From the hour I set foot
in Maldon Barracks until the day I left it. some time
in January or February, 181 2, my life was rendered
miserable. There were now stationed at the depot,
besides the 12th. about one hundred men, detach-
ments of the following corps, viz., i6thj 17th, 24th,
the strength of which corps were nearly equal to
mine. I was at this horrid hole (Maldon) when I
received the accounts of my poor brothers death
in Spain, where he died of a fever aggravated by
fatigue and worn out by his arduous duty. For the
last six weeks of his life he never slept under cover.
His constitution gave way under the fever, which
was originally caught at Walcheren. He breathed
his last in a waggon with General Drummond at
Celerico, and he was so much honoured and
respected by the 43rd Regiment, and was con-
sidered so good an officer, that the regiment wore

264 ELERS MEMOIRS

mourning for three successive days ; and this is a
very unusual compliment to be paid to any officer,
particularly when officers are dying in the regiment
every month or two on actual and arduous service.

It was at this period, the autumn of 181 1, that
my regiment was stationed at Mauritius, and Captain
Forsteen, the eldest Captain of my regiment, obtained
a majority without purchase in one of the West
India Regiments. This made me the senior Captain
in the 12th Regiment, and very soon after this it
was given out from the Horse Guards that a
2nd Battalion was immediately to be raised for the
1 2th Regiment. All my friends congratulated me
on the certainty that I should become the oldest
Major of the 2nd Battalion, having also served near
ten years in the rank of Captain, when, to my great
mortification, only one-half of the promotions took
place that we anticipated — that is, one Major, five
companies, and so in the same proportion with the
subaltern ranks until the regiment had received from
the militia or other sources 500 men, which did not
take place until the September following, in 18 12.
There was at that time a regulation of the Duke of
York s that all officers, on being promoted into other
corps, should positively join their regiments where-
ever stationed, and Major Forsteen made a show of
going to Portsmouth with the understanding that he
would not embark for the West Indies. You may
judge of the surprise and disappointment I felt when
I saw the Gazette that announced him the senior

A MARTINET

26s

Major of the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Regiment.
I could scarcely believe what I read. To add to my
ill-luck, I lost my venerable old Colonel, General
William Picton ; and Sir Charles Hastings,^ a
natural son of the late Earl of Huntingdon, was
appointed Colonel of the 12th. We also got an
Irishman as a Lieutenant-Colonel, who directly
joined at Maldon, and superseded me in the
command, which I was not sorry for ; for the returns
and signatures of the commanding officers, both by
the week, fortnight, and month, were so numerous,
and the responsibility of their correctness so great
(and we had no assistance, neither Quartermaster
nor Adjutant), that I was very glad to be super-
seded in the command,

Lieutenant-Colonel Stirke was about fifty years of
age, and by birth an Irishman, He had risen to the
rank of Major in the West India Regiments, and
had seen but very little active service. He was a
very indifferent regimental officer with respect to
drilling or manoeuvring the regiment, but he was a
very good pen-and-ink man with respect to all the
interior details of a regiment. We soon found him
a very unpleasant commanding officer, and I, who
had all my life been accustomed to be commanded
hy perfect gentlemen as well ^s good soldiers, found a

^ Sir Charles Hastings, created a baronet 1806, married Paroell
daughter and heiress of Thomas Abney, of Willesley Hall, County
Derby, His son, Sir Charles Abney Hastings, left his estates to
the late Countess of Loudoun.

266 ELERS MEMOIRS

remarkable contrast in Lieutenant-Colonel Stirke.
The officers of West India R^ments were in
general in those days a very queer set, and certainly
Colonel Stirke was not an exception. But of all
our misfortunes the greatest was that of having that
brute Brigadier-General Acland stationed at Chelms-
ford, about eight miles from us. He kept an orderly
Dragoon, who was continually galloping backwards
cmd forwards with reports and returns. He very
often paid us visits of inspection, and his way of
conducting himself was extremely similar to that
pursued some years before by General Whitelock
at Portsmouth, who was afterwards broke for
cowardice.

At this time I had formed an attachment to a very
lovely and amiable young lady who was on a visit in
Essex, about twenty-five miles from Maldon. I had
obtained the permission of General Acland to visit
this young lady and her friends for a couple of days.
He knew the errand I was gone on, and as soon as
he ascertained that I had left Maldon Barracks, he
sent an orderly Dragoon after me with orders to
return after I had been there a couple of hours and
just as I was sitting down to dinner. The pretence
was some trifling error in a meat return. Similar
instances of tyranny were of daily occurrence.
Wearied out by all this, I wrote to the Horse Guards
for leave to visit London, determined never to come
back again. That I had made up my mind to. My
object was to obtain permission of Sir Charles

MARIA EDGEWORTH

267

Hastings to join the ist Battalion at Mauritius. He
would not listen to my wishes. The Marquess of
Hastings was at this time going to India as Governor-
General and Commander-in-Chief.

A short time previous to this my cousin, Maria
Edgeworth, who was on terms of the greatest friend-
ship with the venerable Countess of Moira» who used
to call her * cousin ' from her grandmother being a
Hungerford, wrote to me and enclosed one of Lady
Moira s letters to her, wherein her ladyship offered
to forward the interest of my poor brother the Major
on account of his descent from that family, she en-
joying several baronies of that family from a marriage
that took place in 1482 with Lord Hastings. I
wrote to my cousin telling her of my brother s death,
and the great desire I had to go out to I ndia upon
the staff of the Marquess of Hastings, and that she
must, of course, feel less embarrassment in making
this application to Lady Moira as she had so lately
inclosed me her ladyship s letter offering to forward
the interest of any of her family. I felt certain of
my success, when to my great mortification my uncle,
Mr, Edgeworth, would not suffer the application to
be made to her ladyship.

The mother of the young lady to whom I was
paying my addresses had an insuperable objection to
my profession, as well as to the smallness of my
fortune ; and as I had determined I never would join
the depot at Maldon again, and not being able to
obtain the Colonel of the regiment's leave to

268 ELERS MEMOIRS

proceed to India (much as I detested the destina-
tion, anything — death itself — being preferable to re-
turning to Maldon), in a fit of despair I was mad
enough to send in my resignation of the Service to
the Horse Guards. The Duke of York expressed
his surprise, and held it back for three weeks to give
me the opportunity of thinking better of it I had
none of my military friends of rank to consult with
or to whom I could explain my situation. General
Harcourt was in the West Indies and Sir Thomas
Picton was in Spain. My fate was decided, and
after having served sixteen years and purchased two
of my commissions out of the three, I received only
;^ I, ICO for them. Not having served twenty years,
I could not sell the ensigncy, the regulation price
being ^400.

I have already observed that one of the great
objections the young lady's mamma had to my
marriage with her daughter was my profession, and
my being, of course, liable to be sent abroad, thereby
separating her from her daughter. To my great
surprise, having quitted the Service, one great im-
pediment being removed, she then urged the objec-
tion that I was now without any profession. In
short, nothing could be more vacillating and un-
determined than the old lady was in this business.
I offered to settle half my little fortune upon the
lady — ^3,000 out of the ;^6,ooo which was all I had,
together with every shilling her daughter possessed.
All would not do, and the match was declared off.

ENGAGEMENT BROKEN OFF 269

A more amiable girl could not possibly exist than
the young lady the object of my affections, and she
behaved throughout this unfortunate business with
the most devoted attachment to me, and was ready
to make the greatest sacrifices. I firmly believe,
such is the goodness of Providence, that everything
in the end is for the best. I found out afterwards
that there was decided insanity in her family. One
of her sisters destroyed herself, and two of her
children are at this instant confined in a private mad-
house. The young lady herself married a clergyman,
and I have heard died raving mad during one of her
confinements. All this misery I escaped.

CORRESPONDENCE

Col. WellcsUy to Capt Elers, 12th Regiment.

Bangalore, Niwr. igiA^ 1801.
Dear Ellers,

I have received your letter of the nth instant. I
have as yet received no answer to my application to
Mr. North in your favour, and I rather believe, from
circumstances which have occurred lately, that the
Commander-in-Chief in India, and not the Govr. of
Ceylon, will have the Patronage of the Malay regts.
You should lose no time, therefore, in endeavouring to
prevail upon Col. Harcourt to apply in your favour to
Genl. Lake.

I heard from Col. Harcourt lately. He was with the
Governor-General and at Patna.
Believe me,

Yours most sincerely,

Arthur Welleslev.
Lt. Ellers.

Nevada, Deer, 2^ 181 1.
Dear Sir,

I received by the last Post your letter of
1 8th October. I am concerned that I cannot apply for
the Promotion of any Officer that does not belong to this
Army, or who has not distinguished himself under my
command in other Countries in such a manner as to give

[ 270 ]

CORRESPONDENCE

271

him, in my opinion, a claim upon the Service which I can
bring forward with hopes of success.
Ever, Dear Sir,

Yours most faithfully,

Wellington.
Captn. Elkrs,

1 2th Foot, Middlcx Barracks, Essex.

The above letter I received from the Marquess of
Wellington in Spain in i8ll, I did not belong to his
army, and therefore could not distinguish myself. And in
India, when he did command an army against Scindiah, I
was with my Regt. to the Southward, many hundred miles
from him.

Geo. Elers.

LetUr of His Grace the Duke of Wellingion to me, G. E.

London, SepL 7, 1829,
The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments
to Mr. Elers and has received his Letter.

As the Commanding Officer of the 43rd Regt. was not
recommended for a Medal for the Battle of Fuentes
d' Honor at the Period of the Battle, the Duke cannot
now recommend that one should be granted to the
Executors of Major Hungerford Elers who is dead.

Can anything be more unjust than this decision ? The
Duke of Wellington or the Commander-in-Chief, H.R.H.
the Duke of York, published a General Order to the
effect that Officers commanding Regiments in a General
Action should be entitled to receive Medals in honor of it.
And that in case of their decease, their Heirs or Repre-
sentatives were to receive them.

Major Elers commanded the 43rd Regiment at the
Battle of Fuentes d' Honor, which took place in May.
He died early in August following. It is very likely the
Order conferring Medals was not given out at that early
period of the War.

272 ELERS MEMOIRS

However that fact may be, my brother never received
the distinction. Ten years since I met Colonel William
Napier in the Park, and I asked him who commanded the
43rd Regiment at the Battle of Fuentes (Colonel N. at
that time was a Captain in that Regiment). He imme-
diately replied : ' Your brother commanded it, and very
well and gallantly, for I saw him.^ I then said : ' My
brother never received the honorary Medal.' Napier said:
' But you have got it.' I said : ' No, for I was ignorant
of the fact.' Napier then said : * Write directly to Lord
Fitz-Roy Somerset and mention my name. I will under-
take to vouch to the fact.' I did so, and did not receive a
satisfactory Answer. I wrote instantly to the Duke of
Wellington. And the enclosed was the Answer I
received !

In early life I received many kind attentions from the
Duke of Wellington. I loved him then as a friend, I
honour and revere him now as the greatest man England
ever had at the head of her Army. Yet even the Duke
has enemies. They would be but too happy to get hold
of this anecdote. But I regard him too sincerely, and can
only recollect him as the friend of my youth.

Geo. Elers.

My letter to the Duke of Wellington^ enclosing one of his
addressed to me when Arthur Wellesley ! Can this Man
have a Heart ! !

February^ 1828.

Impressed with sentiments of the most profound
respect, I most earnestly request your Grace's attention
to the following statement :

In the year 1801 at Cannanore in the East Indies I
had the distinguished honour of receiving an invitation
from you to accompany you to Seringapatam, to which
station my Regt. was on the point of proceeding, and for
three months I had the distinguished honour of constantly

rol

CORRESPONDENCE

^73

left hand at Your Gr

table. Finally,

sittmg on y

on my Regt. quitting Seringapatam for Trichinopoly,
Your Grace most kindly wrote to Mr. North, the Governor
of Ceylon, to procure me a Company in one of the Corps
on the point of being raised on that Island. The inclosed
letter^ which you did me the honour of writing, will
explain the reason I never benefited by yo«r kindness.

I subsequently purchased a Company in the 12th Regt.»
and in the year i8i2> having served sixteen years, I was
obliged from the situation of my private affairs (though
not in a pecuniary- point of view) to relinquish the service.
I received only the regulated price of those Commissions ^
I purchased ; not having serv^ed the prescribed term, I was
debarred receiving the price of the Ensigncy,

In the Year 181 1 I had the misfortune to lose my
brother, Major Elers of the 43rd Regt. He died serving
with the Army under Your Grace's Command in Spain,
after a service of Twenty Years in that Regt., accompany-
ing it in all its various services and never absent from it.
From his unfortunate death the values of those Commis-
sions are lost to me as his representative.

Under the circumstances I have already had the honour
of detailing, I humbly throw myself upon Yoor Grace's
protection. And though I am perfectly sensible of my
own demerits and the superior claims of the many brave
men who have had the good fortune to have served so
many years under Your Grace, yet still I respectftilly
submit, if I was worthy of your kind patronage so many
years since (and I have the satisfaction to reflect I have
done nothing to forfeit it in the intermediate time), and as
in those days your power was not equal to your kind
intentions^ may I not therefore cherish the hope to
receive your patronage now that you are so deservedly
placed, by your transcendent taJents, the first Subject in
the State ?

All I ask is employment, and I would accept with

274 ELERS MEMOIRS

gratitude any situation Your Grace would be pleased to
confer upon me.

As the enclosed letter is the only memorial I have of
your past kindness, and as I have for twenty-six years
constantly preserved it, I should consider myself obliged
by its being returned.

I have the honour to remain. My Lord Duke, with the
greatest respect.

Your Grace's most Obedient and Obliged Servt.,

Geo. Elers,

Late Senior Capt. 12th R^:t

His Grace the Duke of Wellington, K.G., etc

London, Feb. 28, 1288.

The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments
to Mr. Elers, and begs leave to acknowledge the Receipt
of his letter of this day.

The Duke returns the inclosure, and regrets very much
that he has it not in his Power to be of any service to
him.

London, /tfw 28, 1836.

The Duke of Wellington presents his Compliments to
Mr. Elers, and is much obliged to him for his Letter of
this day.

The Duke has no occasion for a Newfoundland Dog,
and will not deprive Mr. Elers of him.^

^ This note is a reply to a letter addressed to the Duke by Captain
Elers, who had accepted the position of residuary legatee to a relative,
the Rev. Thomas Speidell, Rector of Crick, Northamptonshire. Upon
the death of that gentleman in 1836 Captain Elers experienced a
grave disappointment, as his prospects of succeeding to a substantial
inheritance gradually faded away as the number of debts payable out
of Mr. Speidell's estate accumulated. Captain Elers was at a great
loss to know what to do with a large Newfoundland dog which had
belonged to Mr. Speidell. He first tried to get a lady who had jilted
Mr. Speidell to take it, but she refused, although with many becoming

CORRESPONDENCE

275

The Writer of this killed in a Duel the best and dearest friend
I ever had — Henry Hervey AUon^ tfie bosom friend of the
Duke of Wellington^ wfwse untimely death caused the Tears
to flow from the eyes of the Prince of Wales^ afterwards
George IV. — Geo. Elers.

Tanjore, i2tk/$ify[i7gB],
My dear Sir,

I have directed your letter as you desired, and
your boy will give you the Post Office Chit,* I have also
directed my Servant to inform your boy how to prepare
the salubrious draft ; if he shd. err, do not lay your being
poisoned to my door.

Pray do not sell your horse ; report says we shall be
under canvas almost immediately — Tippoo in the field,
etc. In haste, with best regards to all the boys>

Believe me.

Yours very truly,

G< Allen.

The only letter I have of my dear Mrs, Aston's, Widow of my
ever dear Hervey Aston, She was one of the great
Heiresses of Viscount Irvin and Sister of The Marckiotte^
of Hertford, Lady Wm, Gordon, Lady Ramsden, and
Mrs. MeynelL

Templknewsam, near Leeds, Yorkshire,

June yc 14/^.

Mrs. Aston returns Captain Elers many thanks for
his very obliging letter, which she only received this
morning.

expressions of regret, on the g^round that her premises were unsuitable
and that her gardener refused to be responsible for the animal.
Thereupon Captain Elers vainly endeavoured to induce the Duke to
accept it There is no trace of what became of the dog after the
Duke's refusal to adopt it — Ed»
* Chit=lettcT.— Ed.

18—2

276 ELERS MEMOIRS

Some years ago Lady Powis obtained a drawing of the
Monument for Mrs. Aston, but if Captain Elers will allow
her to have a copy of the drawing he has taken, Mrs. A.
will feel infinitely obliged to him.

The next time Mrs. Aston goes to Town she shall hope
to have the pleasure of seeing Captain Elers, and intro-
ducing the children of his lamented friend to him.

From my dear friend Genl. Harcourt. I served on his Staff.
He was Secretary to the Marquess WellesUy in India and
high in his Confidence. — Geo. Elers.

Benares, March 14, 1802.

My dear Elers,

I have received your various favours, and was most
obliged by them.

My letter to Picton informs him of an event as unex-
pected as it is honourable to me : I am charged with Lord
Wellesley's confidential dispatches to England, and which
long ere this reaches your hands I shall be bearing toward
that happy land ; my stay will not exceed a fortnight or
three weeks in England, when I shall return hither without
fail — I must do so — therefore do not say, * / shall never come
back.' I will write to you from Calcutta, for which place I
set out this evening by Dawke [d&k],^ and shall reach it in
five days.

I cannot on this occasion omit assuring you of the
happiness I shall feel on again seeing you. I am a fellow
of few words on these occasions, but I thank my God that
he has given me a heart to cherish the feeling of Friend-
ship. God bless you.

Ever yours most faithfully,

G. Harcourt.

Lt. Elers, 12th Foot.

^ Ddk=post.— Ed.

CORRESPONDENCE

277

EdCEWORTH TOWN,ya/l/, 25^ 1808*

Your affectionate letter and entertaining history pleased
and interested all this family very much, my dear
Cousin; and I thank you for the trouble you took in
writing it to me. My father desires me to tell you, that
he thinks it a most favourable omen in a young man*s
character that he should desire to keep up relationships,
and he begs that you will impress this idea of your
character on his mind by your actions, as well as by your
letters, by making your uncle's house your home whenever
you visit Ireland, Let me add that, besides your uncle
and your cousin Maria, you have an aunt here, who is very
desirous to see you, and whose esteem and regard you will,
I am persuaded, desire to obtain as soon as you are
acquainted with her. You have a number of cousins here
of all sizes, and of all ages, from my age to two year old.
I will not describe them to you, because I hope you will
soon come and judge of them for yourself. You will find
this a very cheerful family, and a hospitable house, where
I hope some of the kindness may be returned to you
which so many of us have received in your house, from my
uncle and aunt Elers, I am sure for my own part I have
a very full and grateful recollection of their goodness to
me when I was very iU, and when I must have been often
a great inconvenience and trouble to them,
I am, my dear Cousin,

Your sincerely affectionate

Maria Edgewokth.

Captn. Elers,

12 Re^. Footi Ipswich, Suffolk, England.

Edgeworth ToWHt/ufy 30/A, 181 1,
My dear Cousin,

I am much obliged to you for your affectionate
letter, and for your full account of yourself and your
brothers. I am much gratified by the kind things you

278 ELERS MEMOIRS

say of my books, and very glad should I be that my name
could be of either pleasure or advantage to you.

You mention my cousin, Hungerford Elers. I am glad
that the name Hungerford is preserved in the fexnily. Do
you know that by the Hungerfords we have the honour
to be related to the Moira family? The late excelledt,
admirable Lady Moira (mother to Lord Moira) had
among eight barons' titles which she held in her own right
that of Hungerford, and she signed herself £• Hastings-
Hungerford'MoiTB.. She for many years did me the
honour to call me her friend, and a high honour I thought
it, not from her rank and titles, but from her merit. She
was so good [as] to claim relationship with me. When I
reed, your letter I wrote to Lady Granard (her daughter
and Lord Moira's sister), and mentioned my cousin
Hungerford Elers to her in hopes that at some time or
other the name might be of use to him. I send you Lady
Granard's answer. You must not let it out of your own
hands, and return it to me by the first frank you get.
All that relates to your brother is in the second page.
The rest relates to a Mrs. Rawdon, who was a friend of
my great-grandfather Edgeworth,^ of whom we have MS.
Memoirs.

My father wishes to know whether you have any of the
old pictures that used to be at Black Borton — particularly
a picture of Mrs. Hungerford and a picture of a baptism
of your great-grandfather Elers with the Elector of Metz
standing Godfather. And have you a bow and arrows
and a pair of pointed shoes with chains for the knees
which belonged to Sir Edward Hungerford ? Of him also
there was a picture in the hall at Black Borton and
several pieces of armour. I wish I could have any one of
these pictures copied. Have you any notes or Manu-
scripts of my grandfather Elers? My father has some

* Colonel Francis Edgeworth. (See * Memoirs of Richard Lovell
Edgeworth.')

CORRESPONDENCE

279

which he wrote for him when at College, and which are
excellent.

What are become of all the old pictures the Mrs. Blakes
used to have ?

As you are so good to take an interest about my works,
let me beg that you will take the trouble to deny my being
the author of the * Match Girl/ or of * Tales of Real Life/
which I hear somebody has published in the name of
Mrs. or Miss Edgeworth. There is also a person who
takes the name of Theodore Edgeworth, and published the
* ShipwTeck.* We know nothing of it or of him. All our
works are published by Johnson.

I send you an Epigram of my father*s upon certain
fashionable Scotch marriages and divorces. The lines
have been attributed in England to Sheridan, and have
been sent as Sheridan's by different people back from
England to Ireland, My father thinks it a high honour
to have anjlhing of his writing attributed to so accom-
plished and witty a writer :

*To ready Scotland boys and girls arc carried
Before their time, impatient to be married.
Soon wiser grown the selfsame road they run
In eager haste to get the knot undone.
The indulgent Scot, when English law too nice Is,
Sanctions our foliies first and then our vices*

My father and Mrs. Edgeworth desire me to repeat
their hopes that you will let us see you at Edgeworth
Town whenever you come to Ireland*

Believe me, my dear Cousin »
Affecly. yours,

Maria Edgeworth.

Edgeworth Town, Matxh 20/A, 1833.

I am much gratified, my dear Cousin, by your kind
remembrance of me — so fresh from the year 1822, when I
had the pleasure of seeing you at Lady Elizabeth Whit-

28o ELERS MEMOIRS

bread's.^ I am much obliged for the trouble you have
taken to bring up all the family history to the present
times, and putting out of the question natural afiTection,
which all Irish born or bred like myself {bred not bcrtti
have for kith and kin^ and cousin's cousins to the hundredth
generation. Even if I had none of that natural touch in
me, who could help feeling family pride and a glorified
interest for relations who bear such names, for example,
as Edward Hungerford Delaval Elers Napier! I only
wish that Edgeworth could have come into that train.

Old Lady Moira,* mother to the late Marquis of
Hastings, who showed me a pedigree she had made out
for herself from iEneas (one link only wanting), was full
as proud of signing Hungerford Hastings as of her great
JEjveas connection, I have letters from her (very entertain-
ing, moreover) signed by the titles of all the eight baronies
that centred in her body; and Hungerford was always
written by her hand in large characters, conspicuous ; and
when writing to me she drew an emphatic line beneath
Hungerford^ indicating, with her Ladyship's characteristic
courtesy, her acknowledgment of the relationship — I mean
connexionship, subsisting through the Hungerfords with
your unworthy humble servant.

Seriously, my dear cousin, I am truly glad to find that
I am by the Elers side connected somehow with the
Napiers. I am much attached to both Mr. and Mrs.
Richard Napier, and delighted to feel that I am drawn
closer to them by their brother's kindness, and generous
adoption of my cousins.

I suppose you know all that I could tell you and more

^ Daughter of Charles, first Earl Grey. Married Samuel Whitbread,
the eminent brewer. Died November, 1846.

^ Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Theophilus, ninth Earl of
Huntingdon, by the celebrated Selina, foundress of the * Countess of
Huntingdon's connection.' Her ancestor, Edward, second Lord
Hastings, married Mary, daughter and heiress of Thomas, Lord
Hungerford, Botreaux, Molines, and Moels.

CORRESPONDENCE

281

of our Beddoes relations and Kings, The Monarch is
going on prosperously I believe and hope, which is more
than ever we believed or hoped of most Kings in our times
— when they seem to be all up-side-down, and more than
*/ear of change perplexes monarchsJ

Tom Beddoes, my nephew, eldest son of the celebrated
Doctor, is somewhere wandering about Germany, but
where exactly I cannot say. Wherever he is he is a man
of genius — and that is enough for him. I have known
nothing of him for some years, nor have any of his nearer
relations as far as I can learn, except what the newspapers
told us, that he was banished from some place in Germany
for too much democratic eloquence as far as I could
understand. Some address or letter of his appeared in
the papers about the Emperor of Russia's resemblance to
the Upas tree and a Colossus of snow. The Upas tree
simile I presume the Emperor might not relish if he knew
what it meant.

My nephew, Harrj^ Beddoes, is a most amiable young
Lieutenant in the Navy, and I love him and his profession
and everything about them. He is like his dear mother,
who had her grandfather Edgeworth*s genius, and the
Elers* black-blue beautiful e3^es and eyelashes, and original
humour of her own, and a heart open as day to melting
charity — all which her son, my dear Harry Beddoes,
inherits from her. He is going to be married as soon as
the necessary hundreds can be made out to a young lady
whom he described to me (last post) as an angel, and who
is an Eagle— 2.t present, and will soon cease to be an
Eagle, as soon as her mate intended can feather a nest for
her. I am quite prepared to love her.

Of our Coulson relations at Bristol I have heard much
often, and always well from my sister King, whom I
suppose you are acquainted with. One of her most
intimate friends of the family of Bryce has married a
Coulson, much to her own and my sister Emmeline's

282 ELERS MEMOIRS

satisfaction. I presume you know ZoU King and Hmmeline,
your young cousins of the Royal stock.

I do not know whether you are interested for any of
the brothers and sisters of Fanny — my dear Fanny, alias
Mrs. Lestock Wilson. But I am sure you cannot help
being interested for her, since you have lately sat an hour
with her, as she informed me ; and no one that had any
taste or judgment (as far as I am informed, at least), ever
knew her so long without feeling some interest sprouting
within them towards her — upon the strength of which I
may mention that you have six half-blood relatives of her
mother's children, four females (herself included), viz.,
Fanny, Harriet, Sophy, Lucy; two males, Francis Beau-
fort E., and Richard Pakenham E.

Fanny married to Lestock Wilson, as you know.

Harriet to the Revd. Richd. Butler, Vicarage Farm^
Ireland, and his parishioners, even Catholics, love him so
much that they have printed their resolution to pay him
his tithes. No children.

Sophy — married to Barry Fox, Esq., Cloona, King's
County ; children in plenty, but not one too many, for
they are all agreeable not only to their parents but to those
who are not bound to find them so. Their names be
Maxwell, eldest son, from Ld. Farnham (Maxwell) an
uncle. (I am not good at explaining these things.
Excuse me.)

Marianne — Charlotte and Willy.

The two brothers of Fanny I have yet to account for.

Francis Beaufort E.^ is married to a Spanish lady with
beautiful eyes and a beautiful name, Rosa Florentina.
Erolles was her father's name. If you want to know
further, inquire of Mrs. Lestock Wilson.

They have one son lately born, William, and are living
verj' happily at Florence upon very little. But they have

^ His son, Antonio Erolcs Edgeworth, is now owner of Edgeworths
Town.

CORRESPONDENCE

283

all they want. He is one of the cleverest and most
amiable men, doing nothing and capable of doing anything,
that I ever knew — and all who know him I believe love
him, at least I can answer for myself.

Michael Pakenham E.^ is on the high road to riches
and fame in India at Ferrickabad, the fort of joy — or words
to that effect. He is a most persevering son, and if he
escape the fever of the country will certainly be rich and
happy. But I fear I shall never live to see him again.

And now, my dear cousin, I am sure you are or may be
tired of me, and I will only add by best wishes for yourself,
I condole with you on the loss of the chance of that £*4,ooo
per Annm, which might have been yours if the lucky lady
who lost her lover and gained £10,000 by his death, also
who had a 3^10,000 and £5,000 prize in the lottery, had
but completed her good fortune by the timely death of her
stepson. As you do not mention the amount of the legacy
or the annuity she left to you after all, I still hope that you
were not utterly disappointed.

You make me proud of my cousin Hungerford, CoL
William Napier's* praise is a certain hope of honour with
posterity.

If ever I am again in London, I hope I shall have the
pleasure of seeing my pretty cousin Georgiana.
I am, my dear Cousin,

Your affectionate Cousin,

Maria Edgeworth.

You will perceive by the date of this letter that I was
not so dilatory in my thanks for your letter as may appear.
But I cd. not sooner command a frank.

George Elers, Esq re.,

1 5, Hookhams, Old Bond Street,

* Michael Pakenham Edgeworth married, 1846, Christina* daughter
of Dr, Hugh Macphersoot of Aberdeen, and had two daughters,

* Colonel William Napier, aften%'ards Sir William Napier, K.C,B.»
historian of he Peninsular War.

284 ELERS MEMOIRS

Edgeworth Town, AugL vjtth 1833.

My dear Cousin,

You have heard I suppose of the death of your poor
Cousin Mary Beddoes. She died the 30th July at Clifton.
She had long been a dreadful suflFerer under a spine com-
plaint and a complication of diseases. And the result of
examination after her death proved that no medical power
or skill could have done more than prolong her sufferings.
She was a most amiable, resigned, truly good creature.
Her sister Anna, who had devoted herself to her for years,
is left without an object in a most pitiable situation. I
do not mean pitiable as to worldly pecuniary circumstances,
for those are affluent, but to be pitied for the loss of that
which money can never supply and for which it can never
make amends. My niece Anna and my nephew Henry
Beddoes are immediately coming over to tts at Edgeworth
Town. I hope soon to [see] my sister Harriet Butler of
Trim, who is Anna's favourite friend.

Thank you for your account of the young hero Napier.

I have looked over heaps of papers to find the enclosed
account of the Elers family for you. It contains all I
know of the matter.

It fell into my hands in a curious manner. I went to
see Jos. Wedgwood, of Etruria. The Wedgwoods are
hereditary friends of mine. Mr. Jos. Wedgwood gave me
this paper, which he said he found among his papers. I
had occasion to apply to him when I was writing a book
for young people which probably you never have seen,
called * Harry and Lucy concluded^' in which there is an
account of the potteries. I applied to Wedgwood for in-
formation about them and about a Mr. ElerSy who by-the-
by is by mistake call [ed] Ellard in one of the Cyclopedias,
who was the first person who established the potteries in
Staffordshire. This Mr. Elers was said to come from
Germany. So in reply to my questions Mr. Wedgwood
proved to me that this gentleman was my great-grand-
father.

CORRESPONDENCE

285

May be, my dear Coz, your aristocratic blood may
shudder at this discovery of which I am nevertheless
proud. I send you the paper which your great-great-
grandfather wrote at all events, and if you like to take a
copy of it you may, and you may either send me back your
copy or this paper — which you please,

I shd. much prefer your copy because it would be
written in such a beautiful and legible hand.

I pray you at the same time to send me for my fee for
the trouble of routing out this paper for you an Emblazon-
ment of the Hungerford arms — I see them on your seal
and should like to have such a one myself, but the im-
pression of your seal is not sufficiently distinct to work
from. I wish I had a drawing complete of the tomb you
described.

You may consider this wish as a very peculiar compli-
ment from me, for it is main difficult to stir op in me any
genealogical curiosity, tho' I have plenty of family pride
as long as it gives me no manner of trouble.

I am, my dear Cousin, ver>' proud and justly of my
Hungerford cousinship,

Your affectionate Cousin,

[Maria Edgeworth].^

Please if you have not a franker at your command to ask
Mr, Spring Rice^ of the Treasury to frank your packet to
me* He will, for he is to me the most obliging of men and
Ministers,

Capt. Elers,

Hookham^s Library, Bond Strect-

* The autograph has been cut out from the original letter, but the
handwriting proves its authenticity quite clearly. — Ed.

* Mr* Sprinij Rice, afterwards the first Lord Monteagle. Died iS66,

286 ELERS MEMOIRS

Edgeworth Town, AprU vjik^ 18361

My dear Cousin,

I have mended my pen before I began to write to
you, but still have no hopes of writing as fair a hand to
you as you write to me.

Thank you very cordially for your most entertaining and
interesting history, and thank you still more for being
certain that I should S5mipathize with you and rejoice to
hear of any good fortune that befalls you. But the main
point still remains to be ascertained, and I pray you not to
leave me in the agonies of doubt. Let me know to what
your Residuary-legateeship* entitles you — besides the carpet
bag full of diamonds and pearls. You say you have been
obliged to sell all. What do you mean by All — Do you
mean all a^ciSy all furniture and stock ? or all house and
land ? \{ all house and land, what remains to you, Mr.
Residuary ? I am afraid you would be in the condition
of an Irish Residuary legatee. And I don't see the great
reason you would have to bless your amiable departed
cousin — at least for any worldly good he has done you
(saving always the carpet bag).

Pray write again and clear up this point, and tell me
that I am very stupid and impertinent if you please and
can, and I shall rejoice to hear it, and to have a compe-
tent idea of your good fortune realized, and a Catalogue
raisonne pray add of the black cases and their contents
issuing from the carpet bag, which is like a thing in a
fairy tale and worthy of Prince Fortunatus.

A cousin of ours, Mrs. Anna Edgeworth, some years ago
left me a legacy of a pair of superb diamond earrings,
which as I never wished to wear I turned into a market-
house, which I believe is very useful to the poor and rich
people who frequent our village market and fairs. I will
have my cousin Anna's name put upon it sometime. I
wish you would come and see it, though it is not the least
worth seeing — and us — if you don't think that you might
^ To the Rev. Thomas Speidell. See note to p. 274. — Ed.

CORRESPONDENCE

287

say the same of us at the end of your journey. Notwith-
standing all you may see in the newspaper, * there is no fear
I that your Honour's throat would be cut or a bullet put
I through your body if you would come to Ireland, please
, your Honour.*

^L Believe me,

^^^^ Your affectionate and obliged Cousin,

^^^P Maria Edgeworth.

^^^^Pray answer this soon.

^m Captn. G. Elers,

^H 20, Seymour Place, Bryanstonc Square.

^M Deer. 18/A, 1836.

^H My dear Cousin,

^^ To my shame I hear that I never wrote to thank

you for your most entertaining letter and narrative which
you sent me long ago at my own particular request. I
really felt so much obliged that I thought I had written

I to say so. This you will please to set down to the natural
propensity to blunder in your Irish cousin and [not] to
any want of grateful regard. Alas ! I have nothing new
or entertaining to tell you in return for your overflowing
quantity.

Our greatest interest in life at present hangs upon my
two sisters, Fanny Wilson and Sophy Fox, who are with
their mother at Clifton under Mr. King's care, as probably
you know from my sister King. And our only hope is
that Mn King may be as successful as he is kind and
skilful, and may do as much for these two most patient
patients as he has done for my sister Lucy, whom he has
quite restored and renovated.

My dear Cousin, if you have, as I presume you must
have, intercourse and influence with Sir Charles Metcalfe,*

* Son of Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, Bart., by Susannah Sophia,
daughter of John Debonnaire. Bom January 30, 1785; Governor of
AgTa» Governor- General of Canada, iMembcr of the Supreme Council
of India ; created Lord Metcalfe, January, 1845 * ^^^^^ ^P-* .September,
1S46.

288 ELERS MEMOIRS

I wish you would put in a word for your cousin, my brother
Michael Pakenham Edgeworth, who is Assistant to
Mr. Clark, the Political Agent of the E. I. Connipy. at
Ambulla (near the Hymalayah mountains).

All I want you to say is that he is your relative, and that
he is (and this you may say with perfect truth) a young
man of excellent character and highly esteemed. He has
been five years in India.

It may chance that Sir C. Metcalfe may have it in his
power to serve or give him pleasure by his notice, either
personally or by letters, and this is all I look to.

We want nothing for Pakenham at present. He is as
well oflF as can be, and situated just as he likes with Mr.
Clarke [sic], who is a worthy man and valued friend, and
in a healthy country where he has the further advantage
of beautiful flowers, weeds, insects to gratify his tastes for
Botany and Entomology — Tastes which keep in health
and happiness — and good temper, temper lately tried by
the loss of microscope, telescope, all his books of Botany
and Hortus Sicais, and all his 4 favourite horses in a dis-
turbance at Ballawulla.

The extent of his losses at first he told us was £400.
But he has been rewarded for his good temper by recover-
ing all his horses, though in a starved condition.

Microscope, telescope, Hortus Siccus, and De Candolli
all gone to the dogs or the Sieks [Sikhs] — worse than the
dogs as to any chance of recovering the property.

We are at this moment at Edgeworth Town in the heats
of an election, Lord Forbes's death having left a vacancy
in our County. The Conservative Candidate, who is now
hard at it, is my cousin Charles Fox (brother-in-law to
Sophy F., and brother of Barry Fox — nephews both of
the late Earl Farnham, I may mention, as I know all the
Elers like anything tending to genealogy).

How it will end I don't know, but heartily hope, of
course, for our own cousin. And besides being a private

CORRESPONDENCE

289

pleasure this would be a public good, as this is a great
struggle between 0*C- [O'Connell] and Conservatives, and
the quiet of Ireland, and of all property and principle,
depends on the preservation of the spirit of order, religious,
moral and political, against the Lord of Misrule and the
spirit of Catholic revolution, who in the form of priests is

^now awfully at work,
I am,
Yours affectionately, my dear Cousin,
K Marta Edgeworth.

APT. ElERS,

20, Seymour Place, Bryanstone Square.
This letter is sealed with my brother-in-law Butler's
arms partly per pale with Edgeworth.

Edgeworth Town, March 12M, 1838,

My dear Cousin,

I have been absent from home at Trim with your
cousin Harriet Butler and her husband, wherefore you
have not sooner had my acknowledgments for your very
kind and gratifying letter.

The best way in which I could acknowledge this to you
I thought was by obeying your suggestion and writing to
thank your good cousin, Mrs* Monson.^ I leave my note
open for you to judge whether it is what you wish and
think proper — and if you approve fasten down thetrachet
volans (sic) and present the note to Mrs. Monson.

I am not sure whether I have written to you since we
heard from Pakcnham of his having been at the splendid
marriage of Runjut (sic) Singh's grandson, and of his re-
ceiving from him fine bracelets, etc., and expressions of his
respect for his character^ and his mode of doing justice in
his station. Pakenham in one of his letters mentioned

* Anne, daughter of John Debonnaire, sister of Lady Metcalfe,
married, January ro, 1786, Hon. William Monson, father of William
John, sixth Lord Monson.

»9

290 ELERS MEMOIRS

moreover (and a great deal moreover it seemed to him)
that the Governor had been pleased to express his appro-
bation of his conduct and character.

As Pakenham said only the Governor I am not clear
who he meant Very likely it was Sir Charles Metcalfe.
We are [none] of us quite sure whether it was before Sir C.
Metcalfe left India, and I have not my brother's letter to
refer to.

Sir Charles Metcalfe's honourable mention of him,
however, in his letter to Mrs. Monson which you were so
good [as] to repeat to me in your last letter, is everything
we could wish and justifies my thanks to her. It is most
true literally that we prefer for him such approbation to
any advancement in situation. He is perfectly happy
where he is — in a healthful situation near the Hymalaya
mountains, and with a kind friend in his superior, Mr.
Clarke, and I think he would be sorry to be removed as
long [as] Clarke remains there. He is in the country of
flowers, and being a great botanist, this is an everyday
source of pleasure to him after his six hours of duty-work
at Cucherry} He will never be rich, but he will always
be contented, happy and good. And I trust, my dear
cousin, that some four years hence, when he is to have
leave to come home, you will see him, and that he will
have the satisfaction of thanking you in person.

I am sorry you have been suffering by cold. But so has
everybody, if that be any comfort. Cold comfort you'll
say if you ever allow yourself so vile a thing as a pun.

Do you know of any young man whose funds can afford
to pay two hundred a year for having him well prepared
for the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and lodged
and boarded for the years he is so preparing, in a very
agreeable family, viz., with my brother Francis E. and his
Spanish wife, Rosa Florentina E., now residing at Clewer
Cottage, near Windsor ?

^ Cucherry = office.— Ed.

CORRESPONDENCE

291

If you know of such please mention your Cousin Francis
E,, and you will serve your friend and your friend's
friendSp whoever they may be, and oblige

^Your affectionate Cousin,
Maria EdgeworthJ

Captk, George Elers,

20, Seymour Place, Bryanstone Square.

Edgeworth Town. May ^th, 1840.

My dear Cousin,

I omitted to enclose in my letter of yesterday these
notes for Mr. Burke, which it was the particular object of
my letter to forward*

I omitted also to say that if Mr* Burke wishes to
publish the motto I sent him he is at liberty to do [so]*
provided he does not put my name at full len^h to them,
which I own I should not like to see to anything so trivial.
Besides, my father advised me never to publish any
rhymes, to content myself with plain prose. And I have
given this true reason to Joanna Baillie, even my dear
friend Joanna, for not letting my name be put to her
collection of Verses by friends for a charitable purpose.

Whether you agree with my father and me or not, I am
sure, my dear Coz, you will believe me quite sincere in
what I say and not fishing for Compliments, and I trust
therefore you will do and make Mr. Burke do as I desire.
He may put at the bottom of the motto M- E. if he
pleases, because nobody knows who M. E. is and there
may be 100 M. E*s. But I do not desire to see sprawling
under such lines the full Ungth

Maria Edgeworth,
Yours affectionately and sincerely.

Was Mr. Bald/ an officer in the Navy ? R.S.V.P.

' The autograph and part of the address are cut out of the original
letter.— Ed.
* Sec p. 9.— Ed,

19 — 2

292 ELERS MEMOIRS

Edgeworth Town, May ^th^ 1841.

My dear Cousin,

I have delayed two days to reply to your kind and
touching letter, only to obtain the necessary corrections
for the new Edition of your friend Mr. Burke's work. I
enclose them and the autograph which you desired for him.

I rejoice to see by the steadiness and beauty of your
handwriting that you must have completely recovered
from your illness. We have been profiting in another way
by the distinctness of your handwriting ; your Manuscript
Memoirs are really as easy to read as print, and certainly
this adds much to the reader's pleasure — especially in
reading aloud. Your friend and relation Lady Ashbrook^
must be pleased, I think, to see her beautiful little volumes
so filled. . We much admire, by-the-by, the readiness with
which the books start up ready to the reader's hand out of
their elastic case. This may be a case very common in
the London world, but as we had never seen one of the
kind before you have for it our raw country admiration.

We have all in this family, even those who have no
Elers interest in the Memoirs, been amused by your
History, and you will, I am sure, be glad to hear that they
have afforded means of entertaining for several evenings a
loved and much respected lady, Mrs. Mary Sneyd^ (Our
Aunt by courtesy), who is now in her 90th year just
recovered from an illness. She took, with her very kind
and ready sympathy, a lively interest in your ups and
downs in life — and much regretted your loss of your right
time for promotion and Majority, And even your losses by
horses or otherwise she failed not to deplore.

There are some curious and valuable anecdotes —
especially that of Sir David Baird's generous conduct to

^ Emily Theophila, daughter of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Bart, by
Susannah Sophia, daughter of John Debonnaire. Married, June 22,
1 8 12, Henry Jeffrey, fourth Viscount Ashbrook.

* Daughter of Edward Sneyd, of Lichfield, sister of Honora and
Elizabeth Sneyd, successively wives of Richard Lovfell Edgeworth.

CORRESPONDENCE

293

the Duke of Wellington, which I have heard variously told
and sometimes its truth disputed. I never saw it so well
ascertained or so clearly told as in your MS., and as you
had it from CoL Wellesley's Aide-de-Camp at the time it
cannot be disputed.

The death of CoL Aston is very striking and well and
touchingly told. The Cobra de Capello vtry curious!
Your loss of the heiress we deplore. But you were very
happily saved from the marriage with the lady of your love,
and may bless her hard-hearted mother-
As to fearing my criticism, put that quite out of your
head, I never read to criticise- And as you did not, you
say, think of writing for anyone's eyes but your nephew's,
and as you do not think of publishing, there could be no
use and could be only ill-nature going to waste in making
corrections of the press — as to little matters which a
Corrector undertakes and is paid for.

My dear Cousin, as to the hint of mine which you say
prevented you from writing to me, I am sorry if it gave
you a moment*s pain. But believe me, it was meant only
as an apology for my being a bad correspondent. And 1
have written the very same words, I believe, very lately to
friends in America whom I particularly esteem, but with
whom, as I frankly told them, it was absolutely out of my
power to keep up a regular correspondence — merely from
my not having time.

My sister Emmeiine can tell you the same thing, and
she never was hurt by my telling her the plain and absolute
matter of fact.

I am very glad she andZoe had an opportunity of being
kind to you in a way and at a time when you felt it so
affectionately.

Mrs. Edgeworth^ desires me to say that if you should
think change of air would be beneficial to you and if you

* Fourth and last wife of R, L. Edgewortht Frances Anne, daughter
of the Rev. Daniel Augustus Beaufort, died February ao, 1865*

294 ELERS MEMOIRS

could undertake a journey to Ireland (by-the-by, with rail-
road and steam vessels, no very difficult thing) she and all
of us here and I in particular, your blood relation, would
be very happy to see you and would make you as comfort-
able as we possibly could.

Believe me, dear Cousin,

Affectionately Yours,

Maria Edgeworth.

My sister Honora (married to Captn. Beaufort, Nov. 8,
1838, as the enclosed notes to Mr. Burke observe) is now
with us ; but she will be in London in the course of this
month, probably at No. 11, Gloucester Place, where they
reside. She desires me with her cousinly Compliments
to tell you that she should be happy to see you if you would
be so kind [as] to call upon her whenever you pass that way.
You must have the goodness to excuse Captn. Beaufort
from making the first or any morning call upon you, as his
duties as the Hydrographer of the Admiralty keep him at
his office from ten in the morning till late dinner-time.

I forgot to mention when speaking of your Memoirs that
we have all an unsatisfied curiosity upon one point, and
you must satisfy us. How did you get the 20 guineas
into the custom-house officer's hand ? Were they in a flat
purse ? Were they wrapped flat in paper ? or were they
in a paper rouleau ? or were they loose ?

I thought that they must have been loose, so that the
ofl&cer should by the touch be made aware of their number.

But then the danger of his dropping them, and their
rolling tell-tales about the floor ! Your cousin Lucy opines
that they were in a little leather purse flat^ such as she has
seen Mr. King use.

Mrs. Edgeworth, who is always most likely to be right,
thinks they were in a rouleau, and that the weight of the
rouleau made the experienced practitioner aware of the
number. I know that 20 guineas put close together

CORRESPONDENCE

295

will exactly {it is said) fill the space between the first joint
of the middle finger and the palm of the hand* But I shd,
think this measure might be inaccurate, because fingers
differ in len^h at least a guinea or so. Mine are so short
that I am sure he wd. have lost 3 by my measurement.
At all events be sure to settle this matter in jo". next.*

Edge WORTH Town, /uly 14M, i84r.

My DEAR Cousin,

Have you any recollection of the house and place
of Black Bourton ? If you have, I wish you would send
me such a description of it, or such a scratch with a pen,
as could enable anybody to form an idea of the sort of
front or look of house it was. I have a friend who would
from any such description or scratch make a drawing of it
for me.

I have been returned here some weeks. I left Mrs.
Wilson at Brighton, where she has been ever since, and
is recovering slowly. I found Mrs. Edgeworth recovering
from a severe rheumatic fever. She is now able to w^alk,
and will, I hope, by degrees become as well as even She
is now in Dublin for change of air.

We arc in the turmoil of an Election at this moment,
which I heartily wish was over.

I hope yoo will be able to give me a good account of
your own health, my Dr. Cousin, and I am.

Sincerely and affecly. Yrs.,

Maria Edgeworth.

I see Mr. Burke has published his peerage, I thought
be would have had the grace to have sent me a copy.

* Seep. i8S.~Ed,

296 ELERS MEMOIRS

Lines by Maria Edgewarth on Burke the Genealogist.

Lines that may be prefixed to Burke's new Edition of
the Commoners of Gt. Britain.

Since Reason says that 'To be bom and die'

Of Ao^ mankind make a/i the history —

Let Nobles, Gentles grateful praise award

To him whose faithful Registers record

Their Births, their deaths, their Marriages, their heirs

And more than half th' historic page prepares.

Burke, may thy namesake Burke*s immortal fame
Attend thy labors, and embalm thy name.

M. E.

Cofy of a letter I suggested to be written to the King^ which
was written by Mrs. Crole, March 14, 1826. And the
request granted. — Geo. Elers.

53, Sloane St., Afarch 14, 1826.

Sir,

A few days since I received a letter from my dear
son George, dated from Calcutta in October last. I am
grieved to say he has had a slight attack of that disorder
that has been so fatal in the East. He expresses an
anxious desire for Your Majesty's permission to return
home. He has now been absent from England eight
years, and should any accident happen to him, I should
be for ever miserable.

By every account he is a most excellent and amiable
young man, and I doubt not will prove himself worthy of
the kindness and protection you have so graciously been
pleased to evince towards him. He has been now two
years and a half a Captain, and I am most anxious to see
him a Field Officer. Is it not possible that his promotion
and his leave to return home might be effected at the
same time ?

I have the honour to remain Your Majesty's most
devoted and obliged Servt.

E. C.

CORRESPONDENCE

297

SloaNE St,, 30/A May^ 1826.

On the 14th of March last, 1 addressed a letter to
the King under cover to you, requesting you would have
the kindness to present it to His Majesty, Not having
received any answer or acknowledgment of its receipt, I
conclude it must have been overlooked in the hurry of
public business.

In that letter I stated* that I had received a letter from
my son George, dated from Calcutta in October last, that
he had suffered from an attack of the Cholera Morbus,
and expressed a wish to receive His Majesty's permission
to return to England, having been absent from this
country eight years,

I should feel myself extremely obliged if you could

afford me any intelligence respecting the letter I had the

honour of addressing to H, M, on the subject I have

already stated, I have the honour to remain,

Sir,

Your Obedt. Humble Servt.,

E. C.
Sir \Vm. Knighton, Bt«, etc., etc., etc

Copy of a letter I suggested Mrs, Crole to write to Sir Wm.
Knighton, together with an addition by The Earl of
Egremoni in his own Handwriting, — Geo. Elers.

May ibthy 1828.

Sir,

I beg leave to inform you my Son, Major Crole, is
arrived from the East Indies. As you have been so kind
as to interest yourself about him, I should be much
obliged to you if you wld. favour me with your advice as
to the manner in which his arrival is to be announced to
His Majesty* and what is to be done with respect to his
future establishment. He is a very gentlemanlike young
Man, quiet and unpresuming, but having been all his life
accustomed to consider himself as the natural Son of the

298 ELERS MEMOIRS

King, and having for these last ten years lived in the
families of the Marquis of Hastings and Earl of Amherst,
accustomed to every splendour, he has under all these
circumstances naturally acquired without extravagance
habits of luxury and expense.

Any Advice you will favour me with upon these points
I have had the honour of stating would confer a great
favour upon,

Sir,
Yr. faithful and Obliged Servant,

E. Crole.

As I am afraid of being misunderstood, I must add a
few words to say that it is far from my intention to ask
for an)^hing unreasonable, and that I have no doubt that
my Son will conform to whatever may be thought proper
for him, but you will feel that a young man sent at so early
an age and without any ex{>erience to India, and residing for
ten years as Aide-de-camp to the successive Governors,
where the circumstances of his birth could not be kept
secret, is not fit to be turned loose upon London, without
employment, and without any explanation as to his future
destination, and without any restraint or support but
such as I can give him.

An interesting letter of my Nephew's giving the Account of
Napier's Victory over the Fleet of Don Miguel. — Geo.
Elers.

PURBROOK, NEAR PORTSMOUTH,
/u/yi6tA[iS33].

My dear Uncle,

As you will no doubt feel interested in the proceed-
ings of Capn. Napier^ and my brother Charles,* I lose no
time in acquainting you with a few of the particulars we
^ Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B., Rear-Admiral, of Merchistown Hall,
Hants. Born March 6, 1786. Died November 5, i860.

• George Charles Elers Napier, bom 18 12; entered the Navy
December 7, 1825 ; lost in H.M. frigate Avenger^ December 20, 1847.

CORRESPONDENCE

299

have just received from them, relative to the brilliant
affair which took place on the 5th Inst, off Cape St,
Vincent, between the fleet of Don Pedro, under the
command of Don Carlos di Ponza (my father*s nom de
guerre), and that of Don Miguel. We have just received
letters from both, which corroborate the accounts given
in the papers of the action ; owing to the great disparity
of forces the loss on the part of Don Pedro has been
severe, two of the Captains killed, and nearly all the
other officers wounded. My father escaped with a slight
wound from a crowbar ; Charley was not, however, so
fortunate, as he received no less than six, inflicted by
bayonets and sabres. He was handled thus roughly on
boarding one of the enemy's Line of battle ships (the
Nao Rahina), where he and two others who succeeded in
scrambling up first were left for several minutes unsup*
ported. He, however, made the most of his time, as he
killed four men with his own hand, when, unfortunately,
his sword getting between the ramrod and barrel of a
musket, he was disarmed and left to fight it out with his
fists. Even then he succeeded in knocking down one
fellow, and had seized a second by the throat when he
was stunned by a blow on the head from the butt end of a
musket. At this moment my father came up with the
remainder of the boarding party and carried the ship.

Their loss has been great, but at the time he writes it
was not ascertained what was the exact amount. Their
next operations will, I should imagine, be on Lisbon,
which, if it declares in favour of the Queen, will, I hope,
put an end to the contest, and give us a chance of shortly
seeing them both again safe and sound in England. My
last accounts of my Regt. were op to the beginning of
Feby., when they expected daily to embark, as they had
marched from Hyderabad and reached the coast. I
have been daily looking out for them for the last two
months, and do not know what to make of their non-
arrival.

300 ELERS MEMOIRS

We lost a Lieut.-Col. and a Captain a short time
before I heard of them. The vacancy of the former has
not been filled up, which I think is decidedly a hard case,
as it occurred whilst the Regt. was still on foreign service.
I am now so high up amongst the Captains, that I think
it would be folly to think of exchanging, and I am,
therefore, determined to take my chance and stick to
the 46th.

We have received a letter from Eliza, dated 15th Feby.,
announcing her safe arrival at Madras, where, at the time
she wrote, she was already an old Indian of five days'
standing. She was delighted with the place ; wrote in
capital spirits and health, which I hope she may long
enjoy.

By the bye, in mentioning the loss of one of our Lieut-
Colonels, I forgot he was an old friend of yours ; it was no
less than poor Col. Ogilvie, than whom a better-hearted
man did not exist. Mrs. Ogilvie I saw on her way to
London a couple of months ago. I do not know whether
you were acquainted with her, but, poor thing, she is so
much pulled down and altered by the death of her
husband, of whom she was very fond, that I scarcely
knew her.

My mother and sisters are all quite well, but of course
feel very anxious until they hear further accounts from
Charles, who I hope and trust is doing well. He is to
have the command of one of the captured vessels, and
having had a noble opportunity of proving his personal
courage, may now have occasions to show his talents as a
naval man.

I shall now conclude this scrawl, and believe me, my
dear Sir, to remain,

Ever sincerely yours,

E. E. Napier.^

^ Edward Hungerford Delaval Elers Napier, born 1808 ; a Major-
General.

CORRESPONDENCE

30t

My brother goes by the name of Captn, George Chorley,
of H.M.F.M. Service.

Captain G. Elers,

Hookhain*s Library, Bond Street, London.

^^^B Extreme Outposts, S. Sebastian,

^r May 13 [1836].

H My dear Ellers,

H On the night of the fourth the army sallied out of

the gates of S. Sebastian at 3 o'clock. The grey of the
morning saw the first lines of the enemy taken, but many
of our brave comrades lay stretched on the field : the
light brigade, consisting of the 3d, 6th and rifles, then
attacked the centre. This was a tremendous position, of
course ; the enemy had no cannon, or the taking would have
been impossible, but every house on each side of the road
^ which was the object of contention was transformed into a
V batter)% filled with Infantry, every window loopholed and

bricked up. By the bye, one i8-pounder they had.

H This was the dreadfully disputed point. Col. Tupper

" led up the 6th to the attack ; they stood as long as they

could, but were repulsed with great slaughter ; my cousin

mL in charge of a company behaved as gallantly as ever

" Soldier did, and fell wounded in front of his company

after two hours* hard fighting. Between 200 and 300 men

fell before this position : still it remained untaken, and the

6th, I am sorry to say, as well as the rest of the light

Brigade, refused to advance any farther* The Irish Brigade,

consisting of the 7th, 9th, and loth Regts., attacked the

left flank of the enemy's positions and gallantly took the

first lines, though with great loss. The first Regiment^

the only one of our Brigades that had landed, accompanied

them ; the second lines, however, firmly resisted ; the ist

charged the battery 3 times and were 3 times repulsed —

the loth the same. The 9th then attempted it, were

repulsed and refused to return. Every one now despaired,

though the Phanix Steamer had opened a breach. The

302 ELERS MEMOIRS

men were disheartened. At this critical moment the
Salamander Steamer was seen to enter the Port, bearing
the 4th and 8th on her decks; they disembarked, and
company by company, as landed from the boats, marched
along the sands, ascended the heights, joined the Army
and formed. The honour oi attacking the battery was
given to the Fusiliers. The Adjutant-General came up to
them, and addressing them, told them that every Regiment
had been repulsed and that the honour of taking the
battery remained for them ! We gave our loud Hurra !
and disdaining to fire a shot, we rushed up the hill at the
point of the bayonet, burst thro' the breach, and in a
moment the battery was ours ! ! I had the honour, my old
Friend, of leading the right wing upon this occasion, and
my conduct having been approved of by the General, I
was yesterday gazetted Bt. Lt.-Colonel.
Adieu.

Yrs ever,

Augustus Losack*

P.S. ... I wish we were near one another, to take one
another by the hand. . . .

We expect to attack Passages in a few days : Ours only
lost one Captain killed, and two Officers wounded in the
charge. 76 British Officers were put hors de combat — 12
or 14 killed.

In great haste and much Bugle blowing.

Capt. Ellers,

at Mr. Hookham's, Old Bond Street,

London, England.

Miss Losack's letter to tne giving the Account of the Siormir^
the lines of St. Sebastian, ^th May. — G. E.

PuxTON Hall, St. Neots, Huntshre,
15 May, 1836.
My dear Sir,

I have much pleasure in letting you know that I
have received a letter from my Brother, part of which was

CORRESPONDENCE

303

written after the brilliant victor)^ gained by the British
Legion near St. Sebastian on the 5th of this month, I am
happy to say the Fusiliers had a splendid opportunity
of distinguishing themselves, as you will see in the copy of
the latter part of Augustus' letter which he desired me to
forH'ard to you, and which I have also much pleasure in
doing.

Believe me to remain,
My dear Sir,

Yrs very truly,

Christiana Losack.

St. Sebastian ! Hurra ! May 5th. We landed and in-
stantly were marched to storm a battery that had foiled
the whole Legion. The Adjutant-General came up to us
and told us that there were plenty of crows upon the
heights, that every other regiment had failed, and that the
Fusiliers had an opportunity to crown themselves with
glory. We landed from the Steamer, we marched from
the beach, and we took the battery without firing a shot ! !
My conduct has been approved of. Col. Harley behaved
like a hero. I am now writing this in a caf6 at St.
Sebastian. I carried this letter in my cap through the
whole of the fight. We have 600 killed and wounded and
upward of 30 Officers!! We have carried every thing
before us.

Poor William is wounded. I traversed a fire of 40
Carlists to go to his regiment to know how he was. His
wound is slight, thank God, and he behaved nobly through-
out the affair.

Capt. Ellers»

Hookham's Library, Old Bond Street, London.

304 ELERS MEMOIRS

From my clever friend Lt.-Col. Losack, K.S.F., about to be
married to a lady of Fortune. lo Novr.^ i839-

Brevusca, Nov. 20 [1856].
My dear Ellers,

For the future I have the pleasure to inform you
that you may direct your letters to Major Losack, Q.M.
General's department, British Auxiliary Force, Spain. I
am attached permanently to Head Quarters, where all
letters for the Legion are sent. This is the very Siberia
of Spain, and as unlike the idea we in England form of
the country as Scotland is to Italy. The inhabitants may
possess more energy than those who live in the sunny
plains of Andalusia; they may be brave, hardier — but
they are a set of as ignorant brutes as ever neglected the
passing ages of civilization. You may take my word for
it that we are generally disliked. The greatest part of the
inhabitants is composed of Carlists, and even the others,
when we leave this country, will say that they could have
done without us, tho' some few have acknowledged to me
that the Queen's party tremble with fear directly we quit
their towns, saying plainly that they have no confidence
in the prowess of their own troops. Carlos has 20,000
men, and they are all troops far superior to the Queen's.
The army of the Queen does not reach 30,000. Cordova,
indeed, had the other day an affair in which he had the
advantage, but I firmly believe that the enemy had not
more than half his force. Who knows but in less than
three or four months I may pick up my Lt.-Colonelcy in
their ranks — I don't mean that I am going to turn Carlist !
but amidst the carnage of their ranks, as a few days will
see us at Vittoria, and early in the spring we shall come
to blows. If you think we lead a pleasant life here you
never were more mistaken in your conjectures. We
suffer every species of privation, and that is a sort of
thing one gets no honour for, therefore my desire is to set
about the thing in earnest and finish it, then let them put

CORRESPONDENCE

305

us into some good towns as garrison for the remaiDing
part of our service. But this is not likely, and as the
French proverb has it, ' As I have drawn the wine I must
drink it/ I do not give you much intelligence in this
letter, as I have written a detailed account of my adven-
tures in another quarter where you will see it.

ViTTORiA, Dic, yih.
Three days' march brought us here* Grand preparations
were made for us, complimentary Arches, carpets hung
out of the windows, and other follies ; we arrived, however,
at six at night, and they could neither see us» nor we
them, I always disliked Spaniards, and I have not
changed my opinion yet.

I have not yet heard of any Spanish lady having taken
an Englishman into her good graces ! Vittoria has one
square, built like the Palais Royal, the rest are miserable
dirty streets. We are badly lodged, badly fed, and no
smiles to recompense us, I wish I was safe back again
with my remuneration in my pocket. However, if the
first affair gives me the cross and a Lt,-Colonelcy, it
certainly would smooth things a little, I don't like this
drudging on as a major : I think the second row of lace
round my cuff looks more gentlemanly. But the fact is,
if they were to make me jesus Christ, 1 should not be
content until I got the other step I I

We are to have a ball here in a day or two — in my
next you shall hear about it. I was at one at Bilbao, but
that's a long while ago, when I was a poor devil of a
captain in the Fusiliers. Give my best regards to
Mrs. Hodges, and tell Mrs, F. that the Spanish Ladies
are like her, quite insensible to all my most insinuating
looks.

I remain, my dear Ellers,
Always your friend,

Augustus Losack,
20

3o6 ELERS MEMOIRS

The ball was as brilliant as splendid uniforms and a
Theatre could make it, but no supper, which in my
opinion rather spoilt the general effect. The women are
damned ugly and I did not dance.

Previous to the ball there was what I am sure they
thought a glorious display of fireworks, a transparency
bearing this inscription— VIVEN LOS INGLESES—
and for the benefit of we ignorant islanders they were
kind enough to translate it, which they did in the follow-
ing elegant manner, * The English, let them live.* If they
call stopping two-thirds of our pay for three months
letting us live — ^why, I've done. Well, never mind, there
is some difference between drilling and drudging in a
regiment, and galloping in the midst of a gorgeous Staff,
with a cocked hat and tremendous plume, and having
nothing to do but to look full of business and impor-
tance ! ! This is a sad world, my friend, in which those
who most deserve are too often the least rewarded ; my
sufferings, you know, have been long and tnany^ and it is
but just I should have my turn.

Captain Ellers,

at Mr. Hookham's Library,

Old Bond Street, London.

Chart Lodge, A/ufy^ 1841.
My dear Mr. Elers,

. . . Your gallant relative carried his election
gloriously, and notwithstanding in some respects the
elections have not done much for the Whigs I consider
the Corn laws are done for. It does not signify much
whether the Tories or the Liberals bring it about, but I
can easily see before 3 sessions are over — the restrictive
policy must go by the board. I only suspect that, as
mual, the delay will render very much larger concessions
necessary, than would be the case now.

CORRESPONDENCE

307

Farewell, my dear Mr, Elers, with every hope for the
restoration of your health and that we may still enjoy
some merry days together^

Believe me,

Yours very sincerely,

WiLLM. MONSON*

Jamaica, 20/A Decr,^ 1841.
My dear Captain Elers,

I have four letters from you, three written in
September and one io October, The last from Jersey and
the others relating to your determination to go there. I
trust that you may recover your usual health and strength
and derive comfort from your residence in that beautiful
Island* Your description almost tempts me to think of it
as the place for my own retirement after my return to
England, which I hope will take place in a few months, as
I have sent in my resignation and requested to be relieved,
having accomplished, according to my own notion, and I
hope to the satisfaction of Her Majesty's Government, the
purpose for which I accepted the Government of Jamaica.

As I only came to render this service to my Country,
there no longer exists any reason for my remaining, and I
therefore wish to return Home, and presume that my
application for permission will be complied with* Lord
Monson will I am sure do Honour to his Title, and to any
wealth that may accompany it ; and I cannot but rejoice
at his accession to the Rank of his Forefathers.
Believe me, My dear Capt. Elers,

Yours very sincerely,

C. T. Metcalfe.

Captain Geo. Elers.

Jersey, /ow)^. 1, 184:

My dear Lord and Cousin,

May it please the great disposer of all things to
grant yourself, Lady Monson and all your family many

2C — 2

3o8 ELERS MEMOIRS

happy returns of this day. I think I told you Curtis's
Banking-house apprized me of your kindness to me. I
hoj)e you have reced. the expression of the sincere thanks
I feel towards you for that kindness. I looked forward
with delight and pleasure when I shall see you at Brighton
and I hope also at Chart, when my Spirit of Prophecy
will be fulfilled. When in answer to one of your hospit-
able invitations to that place — I said, something like this :

* Wait awhile until we shall all meet there, under happier

* circumstances than at present.'

From the first hour I saw you in Queen Ann St. I had
a presentiment you would become what you now are.
Your poor Mother used to say, * For my part, I never built
or anticipated. If it comes to pass, well and good.' You
must have heard her say the same thing a hundred times.

Last night We gave a Grand Ball in Honour of the
Birth of The P. of Wales. All the Beauty and fashion of
the Island were present. We turned the Theatre into the
Ball-room. We had a superb Supper. The finest French
Wines. The Theatre decorated with Regal Crowns, Flags,
Laurel Transparencies, etc., etc. A fine Band in the Boxes,
who were concealed from view by the decorations. It was
a superb affair.

I wish in the Summer you would all come. I would get
you a good House, and shew you the Lions.

You never tell me anything of Ly. A.^ or Mrs. S. or
Sir Chas.* Is he coming home ?

Believe me,

Your obliged Cousin,

Geo. Elers.

^ Viscountess Ashbrooke.
* Sir Charles Metcalfe.

APPENDIX

A List of the Officers who died during the
Sixteen Years I was in the Regiment

Lieutenant-Colonel Grey, Cape of Good Hope,

November ----- 1796
Captain Winstone, Prince of Wales' Island, Novem-
ber -...-. 1797
Lieutenant Cassidy, Tanjore, April - - 1798
Lieutenant Swyer, Pondicherri, June - - 1798
Lieutenant William Gahan, June - - - 1798
Colonel Hervey Aston, December 23, at Arnee - 1798
Lieutenant George Nixon, killed Seringapatam - 1799
Lieutenant Thomas Falla, killed Seringapatam - 1799
Major Allen, at Seringapatam - - - 1799
Lieutenant Perceval, at Seringapatam - - 1799
Captain Buckeridge, at Seringapatam - - 1799
Assistant-Surgeon Bagot, at Seringapatam - - 1799
Ensign Walter Gahan, at Seringapatam - - 1799
Lieutenant Edwards, Chitteldroog - . - 1799
Lieutenant Langford, Wallajahbad - - 1800
Lieutenant Grace, at Cuddalore - - - 1800
Captain Whitlie, Pondicherri - . - i8oo
Lieutenant Gordon, died at sea coming from

Batavia- . - - . . 1800

Lieutenant Neville, died at sea coming from

Batavia ----- 1800

Lieutenant Parker, died at sea to the southward - 1801

Major Woodall, at Madras - - - . 1802

[ 310 ]

ELERS MEMOIRS

311

Lieutenant Shaw, at St, Helena • - - IJ

Captain Eriam, Trichinopoli - - - il

Dr, Campbell, fifty miles from Seringapatam - ll

Lieutenant Charles Rist, Seringapatam - - i!

Captain Cavendish, Seringapatam - - • i

Captain Moyna, Seringapatam - - - I

Captain Grant, Seringapatam - - - i

Captain Gainfort, Seringapatam - • - i

Lieutenant Jagger, Seringapatam - - - i

Quartermaster Stewart, Seringapatam - - i

Paymaster Jenkins, Seringapatam - - - i

Lieutenant Purdon, Seringapatam - - - i

Major O^Keeff killed by cannon. Isle of France - i
Major Wilson, died at Ceylon - • - i

Captain John Rist, shot himself, Chelmsford*
Lieutenant-Colonel ForsteeD, died suddenly in

Berkshire.
Captain McKedy, wrecked off coast of Portugal,
Major-General Picton, found dead in bed, Wales.
Major Frith, died in India,
Major-General Taylor, Isle of Wight.
Major-General Harcourt, St. Croix, West Indies.
Lieutenant-Colonel Hardy, West Indies.
Captain Kater, England,

Robert Erskine, Surgeon, London • * - 1828

Together with upwards of 1,500 non-commissioned officers

and private soldiers.

^^^^^^^^^I N D E X ^^^^^^^^^H

^" Abercrombv, Sir Ralph, iii

Acheson, the Honourai>le Edward,

duels and death, 84-87; his be- ^^^B

quests, 88 ^^M

A.D.C., and hrother-in-law to

Aston, the Honourable Mrs., 50, ^H

Lord William Ben ti nek, 139

Z90, 275, 276 ^H

Acland, Brigadier-General, 254, 255,

Attwood, Thomas, the orgamst, ^^^H

266

219 and note ^^^^H

Adderley, Mrs. 6>tf Hohart, Lad}'

Aubrey, Major, 139 ^^^^|

Adderley, Miss. See Gardner, the

Audlev, Lord, 209 ^^^^|

Honourable Mrs* Alan

Austeflitz, Battle of, 183 ^^^H

Ainsley, Dr., 179

Aylett, Colonel Sir William, 221, ^^^H

Allen, Captain. Ste Allen » Major

255 ^^H

Allen, Major, 12th Regiment, 41,
82, 84, 86, 87, 89, 275

Baden, daughter of Pnnce of, r ^^^H

Am boor, Pass of» 90

Bailey, Lady Sarali, 244 ^^^H

Amherst, Lord, Commander-in-

Baird, General, 104, 105: disap- ^^^B

Chief, 31

pointed with his prize-money, ^^M
99; generosity to Colonel Wei- ^H
fcsley , 1 03 ; superseded by Colonel ^H

AmpthiU, 195*197

Ancastcr, Dulce of, 253

Andrews, Brigade Major, 153, 154

Wellesley, 105; supersedesColonel ^H

Andrews, Dn, 262, 263

Wellesley in command of Indian ^H

Angclo, the fencing master, 15

force for Eg>^t, 115 ^^t

Anglesey, Marquess of {see Paget,

Balasore, £52 ,^^^H

Lord), 53, 221, 252 i

Baldey,J., R.N., 9 ^^M

Aognish, Mrs,, 6

Balfour, Tames, of Whit tinge ham e« ^^^H
177 and note ^^M

Anstrutlier, Sir John and Lady, 158

Apethorp€, Northamptonshire, 10

Bangalore, 98, 104, 107 ^H
Banks, Miss Eli7al>eth, marries ^^H

.\rcot, 83, 84

-\rcot Nabob of, 64, 129

author's great-grandfather, 3 ^H
Barabetty, fort of, [54 ^H

Armstrong, Captain, A.D.C* to

Lord Wellesley, 156

Barclay, Captain, Deputy Adjutant- ^H

Arnee, 8r, 83, 84

General at Seringa pat am, 120 ^^M

Ascot races, 73

Barlow, Colonel, commanding of- ^^M

Ash brook. Viscountess, 293 and note

ficer of depot at Isle of Wight. ^^^B

Ashe, Lieutenant, A.D.C. to Colonel

214 ^^H

Harcourt, 153

Barlow, Sir George and Lady, 158 ^^^H
Bamett, Miss. See Rolls, Mrs. ^^^H

Ashton, Lieutenant, 93

Assaye, Battle of, 165, r82

Barrackpore, 158 ^^^H

Aston, Henry Hervey, Lieutenant-

Barrow, Rev, Dr.: his school in ^^^H

Colonel, 1 2th Regiment, 36-38,
41, 45, 47. 4S. 5^ 53. S7r 60, 64, fo-

Soho Square, 19-23 ^^M

Barry more, Countess of, 245 and ^^^H

es, 71. 72i 75» 78. 79^ 81, 82,90, 108,

^^^H

167-169, 205; gets brevet rank

Bastille, destruction of the* 23 ^^^H

of ColoneU 56 ; declines Colonel

Bata\na, io8» no, 129 ^^^H

Wellesley's advice, 83; his two

Batii, 97 ^^^M

^ [3>

ELERS MEMOIRS

Beauchamp, Barl {see Lygon, Cap-
tain the Honourable), 247
Beauclerk, Lady Mary. See Deer-
hurst, Viscountess

Becker, Joachim, 2

Bedford, Francis, Duke of, 196

Bedingfield, Sir Henry, 249

Bell, Mrs. {nie Miss Louisa Colston),
24, 25, 29^ 194

Bellairs, Major, 12th Regiment, 42,
61

Belli, Captain, i6th Dragoons, 246

Belson, Sir Philip, commanding
28th Regiment, 20

Bentinck, l^dy William, 139

Bentinck, Lord William, Governor
of Madras, 134. 135, 139, I73-I75

Bemers, Lord (see Wilson, Major),
12, 219, 226-234, 248

Beverley, Earl of, 235

Bhil robbers, 145, 146

Bhurtpore, siege of, 163-165

Bibury racecourse, 26

Billineton, the singer, 26

Blackbume, Captain, military resi-
dent at Tanjore, 136

Blake, the Misses, 6 and note

Blatherwycke, Northamptonshire,
II, and note, 231

Blenheim Palace, 27

Blessington, Earl of (5^ Mountjoy,
Lord), 249

Bluut, Mr., Bengal Infantry, 153

Boerhave, 2

Bond, Rev. Mr., Rector of Freston,
224, 225

Boothby, Sir William, Bart., 215
and note

Boswells, the, sons of author of the
* Life of Johnson,* 22

Bourbon, Duke of, 249

Bourton, Oxfordshire, 5-7, 278

Bowen, Lieutenant, loth Regiment,

245 , ^

Boys, a midshipman wounded on
H.M.S. Qfu^en CharlotU at the
Battle of La Hogue, 20, 21

Bracebridge, Mr. and Mrs. Walter,
30 and note

Brada Hall, Staffordshire, 3

Bradshawe, Captain, A.D.C to Lord
Wellesley, 156

Braham, the singer, 262

Broke, Sir Philip, R.N., com-
mander of H.M.S. Shannon, 235

Bromley, Debonnaire family vault

at, 34
Brown, Colonel Archibald, 92, 98,
130, 136-138

Brown, Major, of Calcutta, 153,

156-158
Browne, Honourable George, 30
Browne, Honourable Mrs. George

(nie Miss Mary Colston), 24, 25,

29, 104 and note
Brownlow, Lady (nie Miss Fludyer),

Brunswick, Duke of^ aoi

Brydges, Major-General, E.LCS.,
I2Q, 140

Buckeridge, Captain, 12th Regi-
ment, 93

Bull, Captain, 34th Regiment, 171,
172

Bulwick Hall, Northamptonshire,

Burdett, Sir Francis, 203
Burgos, retreat from, 212
Burleigh, 10^ 27, 231
Bumaby, Lady, x% 62
Bumaby, Sir wuliam, 59
Butler, Lady E., 29
Bygrave, Captam, 215
Byng, the Hon. John, 47 and note
Byron, Lord, first falls in love, 29;
his peculiar ear, 56

Cai,crapt, Colonel, Town Majorat
Calcutta, 156, 160^ 161, 166, 167

Calcutta, 1 56- 161

Cambridge, Duke of, 236, 239^ 240

Cameron, General Sir Ewen, 213

Campbell, Captain, E.I.C. Artillery,
66

Campbell, Captain Boswell, 4th
Regiment, 179, 182

Campbell, Colonel Alexander, 74tb
Regiment, 148- 151

Campbell, Dr., surgeon to 12th
Regiment, 46, 85, 104-106, 145, 146

Campbell, Lady Charlotte, 66

Campbell, Mrs., 66

Cannanore, 115, 116

Cape Town, 43, 45. 52. 54-55. 58

Cape Verde Islands, 51

Cardigan, Lord, 10

Carlton House, 49

Camac, Colonel John, Life Guards,
242-243

Carnac, Mrs. John (nie Miss Hen-
rietta Wenyeve), 242

Carr, Mr., 152

Cassidy, Lieutenant, 12th Regi-
ment, 80

Catesby Abbey, Northampton-
shire, 8

Cavendish, Lieutenant, 12th Regi-
ment, 134, 135

INDEX

315

Ceylon, S3, T34

Charles I., portrait of, by Vandyke,

Charlotte. Queen of England, ^

Chartley, Ladv (n/e Miss Duan-
GardnerJ. See Townshend, Mar-
chioness of

Chartley, Lord. See Townshend,
Marquess of

Cheltenham, 197, 198

Chinnery, Miss, 46-48

Chitteldrooff, 144

Christchurch Park, Ipswich, 250

Christina, Queen of Sweden, 3

Chudleigh, Rev, Mr.* 316, 217

Clarence^ Duke of, 166, 167

Clark, Mr, and Mrs., of Bui wick
Hall, Northamptonshire, 8-10

Clermont, Viscount, 248

Clinton, Captain ijord, i6th Dra-
goons, 246, 247

Clonbrock, LatlVt 198

Close, Colonel, of E.l.CS., 123

Cobbold, Mrs., 251

Cochrane, Miss, See Woodall,
Mrs,, also Titite, Lady

Cochrane, the Honourable Basil,

177
Cockerell, Miss,. 1^5
Codriugton, Admiral Sir Edward,

R.N., 183
Coleraine, Lord {see Hanger,

George), 219 and note
Collins, Colonel, 157
Colston, Alexander, 24, 198
Colston, Lieutenant-Colonel, 216,

217
Colston, Mrs. Alexander, 23, 195
Colston, Mrs. Alexander, juniorj

198, 200
Colston, Miss Louisa. See Bell,

Mrs.
Colston, Miss Mar5% See Browne,

the Honourable Mrs, George
Colston, Miss Sophia, 24*29
Colslon, Rev. Alexander, of Filkins

Hall, Oxfordshire, 9, 23
Col .-ton, Rev. Dr. William, of West

Lydford, Somerset, 39
Combennere, Viscount (see Staple-

lon-Cotton, Lieutenant-Colonel),

65» 67, 83, 84, 90, 163. 165, 204, 205,

346
Conjeveram, pagodas of, 74
Constantia, 54
Coorg, 112, 116-11S
Coorg» Rajah of, 112, 118-iao
Cootc, Sir Eyre, n7

5<r Lyndhurst, Lord

Comwallis, Marquess, 137, 1 78 and

note
Coromandel monsoon, 70
Cotiote, 112, 113, 116
Cotiote, Rajah of, tt2
Coutts, Mr. and Mrs., 26a
Cowes, 40

Craddock, Sir John, Commander-
in-Chief at Matlras, 164-166
Craigie, Captaitt, j2th Regiment

See Craigie, Major
Craigie, Major, 12th Regiment, 41,

43, 46, 3s, 86, 88, 95
CratJoe Woods, County Cla.re, 11,

note
Crawford, Captain, 46, 48, 85, 107,

in, 114, 115, 127, 129, 140, 178,

179. 186
Crawford, lieutenant, 12th Regi-
ment, See Crawford, Captain
Crawford, Mr,, his school at Chis-

wick, 14-20
Creapignys, the, of Aldborough, 344
Crewe, General, 7
Crewe, Lord, 7
Crib, the prize-fighter, 249
Crole, Mrs,, 296-298
Crouch, Mrs., the singer, 26
Croziers, the, tailors of Pan ton

Square, 88
Crump, Colonel, and Mrs., of Allex-

ton Hall, Leicestershire, 231
Cullura, Sir Thomas, of Hard wick

House, 225, 226, 237
Cumberland, Duchess of» t66
Cunningham, General, E»I.C«S.,

and Mrs., 179
Curling, Dr., 207, 20S
Curling, Mrs. (n/e Miss Hutchiu*

son), 207
Curtis, Lady, ^
Curtis, Mr. William, 194 and note,

»95
Curtis, Sir William, Bart,, of Cul-

lard's Grove, 194 and note
Cuttack, 142

Dai^rymplr, Captain Hugh, 19th

Regiment, 139
Dalrymple, Captain Kerby (brother
of aliove), 74th Regiment, 107,

U9
Darke, Miss Rebecca Juliana. See

Floyd, Lady
Darke, Mr, Charles, of Madras, 129
Dawes, Mr,, 249
Debonnaire, John, 34
Debonnaire, Miss Anne. See Ten-

nant, Mrs, William

3i6

ELERS MEMOIRS

Debonnaire, Miss Elizabeth. See

Elers, Mrs. Paul George
Debonnaire, Mrs. John (nie Miss

Ann Tennant), 34 and note
Deerhurst, Viscount, 245
Deerhurst, Viscountess (nie Lady

Mary Beauclerk), 244 and note,

245
De Grey, Major the Honourable

Geoive, 22nd Light Dragoons.

See Walsingham, Lord
DelavaU Sir Francis Blake, 8
Derby, Captain, loth Regiment,

245.254
Derby, George Eld, subaltern, 12th

Regiment, 43
Devonshire, Duke of, 134
Diamond Harbour, 161
Didlington, Norfolk, 226, 227, 232
Dodwell, Colonel, 34th Regiment,

173
Dormer, Lord, 8
Dormer, the Honourable Messrs.,

20
Douglas, Captain, R.N., 215, 216
Douglases, the, 20
Doveton, Captain, commanding

Lord Wellesley's bodyguard, 150
Dowlett Bagh, palace of, 103, 120
Doyle, Lieutenant Bentinck, 169,

170
Draper, Captain, 181
Dum Dum, 158

Duncan, the Honourable Miss, 197
Dundonald, Earl of, 125
Dunn-Gardner, Miss. See Chart-

Ic}^, Lady, and Townshend, Mar-
chioness of
Dunn-Gardner, Mr. William, 206,

208, 209
Dunn-Gardner, Mrs. William, 206
Dumfords, the, 20
Dutch fleet, the, 45, 52
Dutch women at the Cape, their

looks, 54, 55
Dysart, Earl of, 244

EdgkworTh, Miss Maria, 267, 277-
296

Edgeworth, Mr., of Carisbrook, Isle
of Wight, 215, 216

Edgeworth, Richard Lovell, 6 note,
7 note. 8, 9, 267

Elba, Bonaparte's return from, 212

Elers' ancestry, 1-3

Elers, David, great chemist, con-
nection with Wedgwood's Staf-
fordshire potteries, 3, 4

Elers, Edward, author's brother.

13. 39. 217, 218, 223; birth, i;
enters Royal Navy, 32 ; in action,
33 ; third Lieutenant of the Orion
at Trafalgar, 18^; in action on
the Arrow off Lisbon, 183 ; sent
prisoner to Alexandria^ 184; in
Lord St. Vincent's action, Feb-
ruary 14, 1797, on board the Prince
George^ 184; marriage with Miss
Younghusband, aoi
Elers, George, birth, i; ancestry,
1-8; childhood, ^13; at Mr.
Crawford's school at Chiswick,
14-ao; at Dr. Barrow's school in
Soho Square, 19-2^; visits the
Colstons, 23-28; death of his
mother, 33 ; gazetted to 90th
Regiment, 36; becomes Lieu-
tenant in I2th Regiment, 36;
joins regiment at Newport, Isle
of Wight, 39; embarks for the
Cape, 45 ; reaches Capetown, 52 ;
reaches Madras, 58 ; embarks for
Manila, 68; delaved at Peuang,
6q; returns to Maoras, 71 ; reaches
Tanjore, 75 ; witnesses suttee, 76,
77 ; witnesses restoration of Suf-
frajeh at Tanjore, 78, 70; arrives
at Amee, 81 ; delayed by illness
on the march to M3rsore, 91 ; sick
at Seringapatam, 92, 93 ; resigns
his rij^ht to purchase company,
95 ; witnesses restoration of de-
scendant of former Rajahs of
Mysore, 98; marches to Banga-
lore, 98 ; leaves for Madras, 104 ;
at St. Thom^, Madras, 107; re-
joins regiment at Wallahjahbad,
J07; remains there in charge of
sick, 108; rejoins regiment at
Poonamallee, 109; marches to
the Mysore country, no; expe-
dition to Cotiote, 112; in action
there, 113; at Talatcheri, 114;
with Colonel Wellesley through
Cotiote country, 116, 117; Rajah
of Coorg's visit, 118, 119; at Se-
ringapatam with Colonel Wel-
lesley, 1 20- 1 26 ; wins riding wager,
129 ; arrives at Trichinopoli, 129 ;
wins horserace, 131 ; promoted
Captain, 135 ; at Negapatani and
Tanjore, 136 ; at Pondicherri and
Madras, 138; kills a cobra, 140;
visits Colonel Harcourt at Cut-
tack, 142; loses his plate and
tent, 143; athletic feats, 144; his
pets, 144; his servant Francis,
147; leaves regiment, 147; takes

INDEX

317

part in naval engajjement at
Vizagapatam, 150, 151 ; visits
Colonel Harcourt at Cuttack,
153 ; visits Calcutta, 156 ; sails to
Madras, 161 ; arrested by mis-
take» 174. 175; does duty with
75rd Regiment, 175 ; sails from
Madras for England, 179; arrives
in England, 186; bribes the Cus-
toms, 18S; visits Colonel Thorn-
ton at Falconer's Hall, Yorkshire,
192: visits Cheltenham, 19^; re*
visits Filkins Hall, I9»S ; waits on
Duke of York, 201 ; subscribes to
public dinner to Lord Wellesley,
20,^ ; scheme for eloping with
Miss DuDU -Gardner, 207 ; friend-
ship with Sir Thomas Pic ton,
21 1 ; goes to the depot at the Isle
of Wight, 214? returns to Ipswich,
321 ; goes to Maidstone, 222 ; at
Isle of Wight, 223 ; back at Ips-
wich, 224 ; intimacy with Major
Wilson, 226-234 ; friendship with
Mr. John Vernon, 240 r a carriage
accident, 241 ; stationeti at Stow-
market, 255 ; hurt in carriage
accident, 260-262 ; ordered to
Maldon, Essex, 263; disappointed
of bis majority, 264, 265 ; wishes
to return to India, 266, 267 ; re-
signs the Ser\ice, 268; engage-
meist broken off, 268, 269, In
Correspondence : refused promo-
tion by the Duke of Welling-
ton, 270, 271 ; refused by the Duke
of Wellington honorary medal for
the Battle of Fuentes d'Oilor as
executor of his brother. Major
Hungerford Elers, 271, 272; ap-
plies to Duke of Wellington for
emplojTnent, 272-274 ; applica-
tion refused, 274; offers New-
foundland dog to Duke of Wel-
lington, which the Duke declines,
274 ; residuary- legatee to the Rev,
Thomas Speidell, 286 ; congratu-
lates Lord Monson on his acces-
sion, 307, 308; describes ball in
Jersey in honour of the birth of
the Prince of Wales (King Ed-
ward VII.), 308
Elers, Hungerford Richard, 43rd
Regiment, author's brother, 34,
138, 200, 201, 271, 272; birth, i;
gazetted to ensigncy, 31; quar-
tered at Colchester, 226; dies at
Celerico, Spain, 263
Icrs, John Philip, great chemist,

author's great-grandfather, 2, 4;
connection with Wedgwood's
Staffordshire potteries, 3, 284

Elers, Martin, 2

Elers, Mrs. Edward {ft^tr Miss
Vounghusband), 201, 223

Elers, Mrs. Paul George {ft/e Misst
Elizabeth Debonnaire), author's
mother, 12, 13; marriage, 6 note;
death, 33

Elers, Paul George, 70th Regiment,
author's father , 5, 13 ; marriage,
6; his pecuniary dimculties, 32

Ellis, Mr., natural son of the Earl
of Buckinghamshire, 143

Elrington, Major, commanding
oflficer at the Tower, 210

EnglefieUi Green, 7^

Erskine, Dr., assistant- surgeon,
1 2th Regiment, 86, 108

Essex, Countess of [n/e Miss Kitty
Stephens}, 258-260 and note, 362

Eustace, Lieutenant, 12th Regi-
ment, 95, 96

Ewen, Major, of the Scotch Bri-
Ratle, 52

Exeter, Marquess of. 231

Exeter, ninth Earl of, 10

Falconhr*s Hali,, Yorkshire, 191,

192
Falla, Lieutenant, 12th Regiment,

S7.91
Fancourt, Colonel, 34th Regiment,

173
Fane, Lady Augusta, 10
Fern and cTe Noronha, i8r
Feuch^res, Madame, 249
Filkitis Hall, Oxfordshire, 9, aS,

198-200
Fisher, Acting Lieutenant, R.N»,

Fitzgerald, Lieutenant, lOth Regi-
ment, 245

Fitzpatrick, the Ladies, 195 and
note

Fitz-Roy, Lord Charles, 219

Flannigan, Kitty {ste Flenaiy, Mar-
garet), II

Flenary, Margaret {sfe Flannigan,
Kitty), II note

Floyd, General Sir John, BarL,
19th Light Dragoons, 129

Floyd, I^dy {n7t Miss Rebecca
Juliana Darke), 129 note

Floyd, Miss Julia. Set Peel, La<h

Fludyer, Sir Samuel, 10, 210, 253 '

Fludyer, the Misses. See Onslow,
Countess of, and Brownlow, Lady

3i8

ELERS MEMOIRS

Fonnereau, the Rev. Charles Wil-
liam, of Chriatchurch, Ipswich,
249 and note, 250

Forsteen, Captain, 12th Regiment.
See Forsteen, Colonel

Forsteen, Colonel, 143, 264

Fortescue, Mr., 153, 154

Fort St George, MacG^ 59-67, 73,
106^ 107

Fort William, 156

Fox, Charles James, 196

Frazer, Captain Hastings, 12th
Regiment, 134

Frazer, General, 121

Fuller, Sir Joseph, i8

FuUer, William, 18

Gahan, Lieutenant William, 12th

Regiment, 80
Gardner, Admiral Lord, 66
Gardner, Captain the Honourable

Alan, R.N., 66 and note
Gardner peerage, claim to the,

67
Gardner, the Honourable Mrs.

Alan (tUe Miss Adderley), 66 and

note, 67
Garrard, Lieutenant of Engineers,

176, 179
Garrow, Mr., E.LCS., 179, 186
George III., 65
George IV., 296-298
Gibraltar, siege of, 41, 42, 65
Gill, Lady Harriett, 198
Goddard, Captain, loth Regiment,

G^3on, Captain, 73rd Regiment,

175
Gordon, Lieutenant, R.N., 69
Gordon, Major, 34th Regiment,

200
Gordon Riots, the, 8
Gore, Sir John, 178
Gosport, 39

Graham, Colonel of the 90th Regi-
ment See Lynedoch, Lord
Graham's Club, 139
Grame, Mr., 153
Gramniont, Lieutenant Count de,

loth Regiment, 245
Great Russell Street, i, 6
Grey, General Sir Charles, 36
Grey, Earl, 36
Grey, Thomas, Lieutenant-Colonel

of the I2th Regiment 36 and

note, 58
Grosvenor, Mr., 4, 5
Gwillam, Sir Henry, Judge at

Madras, 171, 172

Hamilton, Duke of, 69

Hanger, George. See Coleraine,
Lord

Harborough, Earl of, 10, 11

Harcourt Colonel. See Harcourt,
Major-General George William
Richard

Harcourt Major-General George
William Richard, 6, iii, 114, 11^
127-129, 152-154, 156, 268, 270, 276;
takes command of 12th R^-
ment, 109 and note; his ap-
pearance and popularity, no;
commands brigade in Cotiote
Expedition, 112; his coolness
unaer fire, 113; takes Lord Wel-
lesley's despatches to England,
134 ; appointed secretary to Lord
Wellesley, 142

Harcourt Simon, Earl of, 5, 6

Harland, Lady (nie Miss Arethusa
Vernon), 225, 226, 237

Harland, Sir Robert 226, 235, 236

Harris, General, 10, 102; snubbed
by the Duke of York, 103

Harrison, the singer, 26

Hartley, Lieutenant, 36th Regi-
ment, 81, 82

Hastings, Colonel Sir Charles, 12th
Re^nient 265 and note

Hastings, Marquess of, Governor-
General of India, 267

Hawkins, William, E.I.CS., 130,

132, 133. i37» 138

Havward, Sir Thomas, of Berk-
shire, 71

Hazlerigg, Sir Arthur, of Nosely
Hall, I^icester, 231

Henniker, Lord, 194 and note

Henrietta Maria, Queen of Eng-
land, 2 ; portrait of, by Vandyke,

231

Henry VIII., his portrait by Hol-
bein, 227

Hertford, Marchioness of, 190

Hertford, Marquess of, 139

Hervey, Major Felton, 14th Dra-
goons, 240

Higgins, Mrs., 198

Hindoo women, their symmetrical
figures, 80

Hobart, Lady (see Adderley, Mrs.),
66

Hobart, Lord, Governor of Madras,
66

Hodges, Mrs., 247

Hodgkin, Mr., of Tixover, 231

Holbein, Hans, his portrait of
Henry VIII., 227

^f^^^ INDEX 319 ^J

Ilolkar, 135, 164

King, Lieutenant, 46, T30 ^^^H

Hopkins, Captain, Royal Marines, 9

Kirkpatrick, Colonel, of Netting- ^^^H

Houlditch, of Long Acre, carriage

ham Place, iSo, 188 ^H

builder, 97

Kippen, 'Cornet^' 104-106 ^H
Kishnaghenry, fort of, 91 ^H

Houston, Lieutenant, R.N., 69

Hughes, Captain, 74th Regiment,
A.DX. to Colonel Wellesley, 103

Kutzleben, Baron, A.D.Cto Colonel ^H

Harcourt, 153 and note, 154 ^H

Hungerford, Miss, marries author* s

^^1

paternal grandfather, 5

Lade, Sir John and Lady, 245 and ^|

Hutchinson. Lieutenant, Adjutant
to Sir William Ajlett* 221

note ^H

Lading, Captain, E.I.C.S., 130 ^^^M

Hutchinson, Miss, 35, 136, 206, 307

Lake, General. See Lake, Lord ^^^^|

Hutchinson^ Miss N. See T,amhert,

Lake, Lord, 135, 163-165 ^^^H
La] Bagh, palace of 92 ^H
Lamb^ Captain Henrv, 148, 169, ^H

Mrs-

Hutchinson, Mr. {Mrs, P, G. Elers'

trustee), 34, 35, 37» 79. 9S» n$t

■

188, 189

Lambert, Mrs. (n^e Miss N. Hutch- ^M

Hyder Ali, 92, 98

in>»on), 39, 193 ^M

Langford, Lieutenant, r2th Regi- ^H

lKCi.EiX)N» the singer^ 219 and note ■,

ment, 108 ^^^H

Innis, Colonel, 75

Lanza, the music-master, 259 ^^^H

Ipswich, 22 T, 224

Lasswarry, battle of, 154 ^^^^|

Irwin, Mr., 130. 131

Leeds, Duchess of, 6 ^^^H

Leicester, Earl of. See TownsheniL ^H

JACKSON, Mr. Scott, 91

Marquess of ^H

Jadis, Mr. Henrv', 66 note* 67

Leicester, Josceline, seventh Earl ^H

J agger, Lieutenant, paymaster to

of, 30 and note ^H

i2th Regiment, 143

Lenuou, Major and Mrs., T30 ^H

Jellicoe, Miss, 190 and note

Li fid. Commander, in charge of ^H

Jenkins, Miss, See Merest, Mrs.

Cettiurion, 14S-151 ^H

John

Lindsay, Honourable Hugh, Com- ^H
mander of the Rockingham^ East ^H

Johnson, Lieutenant, 34th Regi-

ment, 172

Indiaman. 45, 48, 55 ^|

Johnson, Mr. and Mrs, Prior, of

Lindsey, Countess of, 231 ^^^B

Aldborough and Bosmere, 243,

Lindsey, Earl of, 253 ^^^^|

255* 257

Linois, Admiral, 148, i8t ^^^^|

Joliife, William, 20

Linsengen, Baron, 240 ^^^^B

Juggernaut, 155

Liston, the actor, 21 ^^^H

Little Aston Hall, Staffordshire ^^M

Kkan, the tragedian, 251

96 V

Keate, George, 8

Long, Lady Catherine, 248 ^H

Kcdah, 70

Loni', Miss. See Wellesley, Mrs. ^H

Keeley, Mrs,, the actress, 251

William Pole Tylney Long ^H

Keith, Colonel, 138

Lonsdale, Earl of {see Lowther, Sir ^H

Keith, Lord, 52; captures Dutch

James). 10 ^H

fleet, 45

Losack, Lieutenant-Colonel, 301- ^H

Kelly, Michael, the singer, 26, 219

506 ■

and note

Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, ^H

Kemble, John Philip, 55

233 ^1

Kerby, Rev. John, of Bulwick,

Lowther, Sir James. 5^^ Lonsdale^ ^H

Northamptonshire, 8
Kerrisou, Major, 7th Hussars (after-

Had of ^1

Lygon, Captain the Honourable* ^H

^f^-Beauch amp, Earl ^H

Lyndliurst, 1/ord (5i?<rCoplej'J(, 17 ^H

Lynedoch, Lord {see Graham^ ^^M

wards Sir Edward Kerrison), 246,

252, 253

Ke^, Captam Peter, Native In-
fantry, 132

Kil worth. Lord, 248

Colonel), 36 ^^H

^^^^1

King, Ensign, J2th Regiment. See

MclNNis, Mr., Persian interpreter ^^^B

King, Lieutenant

to Colonel Harcourt, 153 ^H

320

ELERS MEMOIRS

M acintire, Captain, B.I.C Artillery,

125, 126 j

Macleod, Captain, lath Regiment, |

115 I

Macleod, Lieutenant, Adjutant of

74th Regiment, 59
McMorris, Dr., 91
Macnamara, Captain, 196
Madeira, 51
Madras, 43, 54, 58-60, 106, 107, 134,

138, 171
Mahratta War, 135
Maidstone, 222

Maintz, Elector of, 2 and note, 3
Malcolm, Captain, R.N., Fox

frigate, 45
Manantaudi, 114
Manby, Admiral, 249
Mandeville, Lieutenant - Colonel,

E.I.C. Artillery, 125
Manila, expedition against, 68, 70
Manners, Major Lord Charles, loth

Regiment, 245
Manners, Major Lord Robert, loth

Regiment, 245
Mansell, Sir William, 231
Mara, Madame, the singer, 10
Margetts, Mr., 209 and note, 210
Marrie, Mr., Lieutenant of the

Marines, 242
Maxtone, Miss Caroline. See

Moore, Mrs.
Maxtone, Mrs., 162
Meade, Lieutenant the Honourable

John, 1 2th Regiment, 40, 46, 72
Meer Allum, Mahratta Prince, 100
Mein, Captain, 74th Regiment,

179
Mein, Dr. Pulteney, 100
Melville, Lord, his trial, 193
Melville, Mr., 153
Mendoza, Daniel, the pugilist, 219

and note
Mercer, Colonel, 22nd Regiment,

164
Merest, John, of Linford Hall, 248,

249
Merest, Mrs. John {nee Miss Jen-
kins), 248
Metcalfe, Sir Charles, 287 and note,

307

Metcalfe, Sir Thomas, Bart, 205
and note

Middleton, Sir William, of Shrub-
land Hall, 243, 255

Mildert, Daniel van, 2

Milner, Captain, R.N., of H.M.S.
Tfideni, 68, 69

Minden, Battle of, 65, 66

Moira, Countess o( 267, 278, 280 and

note
Molyneux, the prize-fiehter, 249
Monckton, Colonel, of Fineshade,
Northamptonshire, A.D.C to
Lord William Bentinck, 11, 139,

253
Monckton, Mrs., of Fineshade,

Northamptonshire, 11
Moneypenny, Lieutenant-Colonel,

73rd Regiment, 164, 175
Monson, Colonel the Honourable

William, 164
Monson, Lord (5^^ Monson, William

John), 3o6-3cfe
Monson, William John, afterwards

sixth Lord Monson, 164
Monteith, Captian, 170
Montgomery, Colonel, 196
Moore, Lieutenant, 34th Regiment,

173

Moore, Mrs. (nie Miss Caroline
Maxtone), 162

Moore, Sir John, 200

Morant, Mr., of the Somerset
Militia, 254

Morland, the t)ainter, 219

Momington, fourth Earl of (William
Pope Tylney Long Wellesley),
247 and note, 248

Momington, Earl of. See Welles-
ley, Marquess of

Morris, Captain, 73rd Regiment, 175

Morton, the dramatic author, 21

Moss, Captain, R.N., of the Mer-
maid frigate, 32

Mother Bank, the, 50

Mountjoy, Lord {see Blessington,
Earl of), 249

Mulgrave, Lord, 204

Mullins, the Honourable Mrs., 198

Murray, the Honourable Alex-
ander, E.LC.S., 149

Mysore, 98, 110-112

Napier, Edward Hungerford De-
laval Elers, nephew of author,
his account of tne defeat of Don
Miguel's fleet by his stepfather,
Captain Napier, 298-301

Napier, George Charles Elers,
R.N., 298-300 and note, 298

Napier, Major, 50th Raiment, 223

Napier, Rear-Admiral Sir Charles,
K.C.B., 298, 2^ and note

Napier, Sir William, 43rd Regi-
ment, 200 and note, 272

Nash, Captain of the Princess Mary,
71

^^^^ INDEX 321 ^J

Negapatam^ 63, 136

Neville, the three Misses, 195

Peel, Sir Robert, Bart., lil.P., 129 ^^H

Peeu. 133 ^^^H
Peiliam, Honourable Charlotte, 97 ^U

Newport. Isle of Wight, 39, 40, 44i

214-217

Pel ley. Major, 1 6th Dragoons, 246 ^^^B

Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, 194

Pellyi Captain, 161, 162 ^^^H
Penang, 09-71 ^^^H

NiJton, Captam Robert, 12th Regi-
ment. 46. 92. 107, III, 112, 132, 133

Penshurst Place, Kenti 30 ^^B

Nixon. George, subaltern, 12th

Perceval. Lieutenant, 12th Regi- ^H

^1 Regiment. 42, 46, 91, 92
B^ixon, General Sir Eccles, 54
VKixon, Lieutenant Robert, 12th

ment, 42, 46. 93 ^^H

Perry, Mrs., 30 and note ^^^H

Petrie. Mr, and Mrs., 46 ^^^H

Regiment See Nixon, Captain

Petti ward, Roger, of Finbo rough ^H

Noel, the Honourable Miss, See

Park. Stowmarket, 255 H

the Honourable Mrs. Stafforfl

Phipps, General. 204, 205 ^M

0*Brien

Phipps, Sir William. 4 ^M

North, Mr. Dudley. 244

Picton, Colonel William, 12th Regi- ■

North, Mr.| Governor of Ceylon,

ment. Set PictoUp General ^M

134, 270

William ■

Nuneham Park, 6

Picton, General Sir Thomas, 41, H

210-214. 2^ ^1

O'Brjrn, Captain William, 12th

Picton, General William {see Picton, H

Regiment. See Thomond, Mar-

Colonel William), 36, 65, 132, 140, ■

quess of

[41, 214, 365 ■

0*Brien, Mn, of Blatlierwick Hall.

Picton, Major John, 12 th Regiment, ^1
41, 61. 75, 78. iir'83, S5. 89. "Ob ^fll

Northamptonshire, 11, 231

C^Brieo, Stafford. 11

129. 134. 135. 139 ^^m

CyBiien, tlie Honourable Mrs.

Picton, Rev. Edward, 213 ^^^M

Stafford {n/e Miss Noel), 12

Pigott, Sir George, Bart., 11 ^^H

Ogg, Major, E.LC.S,. Persian in-

Pindar, Peter, 219 and uote ^^^H

terpreter to Colonel Wellesley,

Polygars. the. no, 129 ^^^|
Pondicherri, 63, 74, 138 ^^^|

115. 119

Ogilvie, Lieu ten ant- Colon el 1 300

Ponsonby, Honourable Miss, 29 ^^^H

Onslow, Countess of {nSe Miss

Poonamallee, 108, 109 ^^H

Fludyer), 231

Porteus, Bishop of London, 30, 49 ^^^B

Onne, Miss. 195

Portland, Duke of, installation as ^^^B

Ormonde, Marquess of, 240

Chancellor of Oxford University, ^M

Orwell, Baron (Earl of Sliipbrook),

26 ^^M

235

Portobello, 235 and note ^^^H

Orwell Park, 225, 226, 235, 236

Portsmouth, 50 ^^^^f

Oxford, 26, 28

Prescot, Captain of Artillery, 129 H

Price, Lieutenant, 12th Regiment, ^t

Pack, Admiral, 250

HI ■

Paget, Lord, commanding Sotli
Regiment. See Anglesey, Mar-

Price, Mr. Washin^^ton, assistant- ^M

surgeon, tith Regiment, iii, 112, ^M

Guess of
Palmer, Lieutenant- Col on el, loth

I32> 133 ■

Regiment, 245

Qttkensberry, Duke of, 214 H

Parker. Lady Hyde» 244

J^uintin, Captain, loth Regiment, ^_^B

Parkhursts, of Catesby Abbey,

245 ^^1

Northamptonshire, 8

^^^^^Hl

Panry, George, 17

Rainier, Captain Spratt, com- ^^^B

Parr>', Henry, 17, 152

manding the Cenh^rWHt 14S ^H

Parry, Richard, 16, 17

Rainier, Rear-Admiral, command- H

Pater. Colonel, 141

ing Indian fleet, 39, 62 ■

1 Patterson, Captain, 18 1

Ranelagh, i63 ^^H
Read, Captam, 158-161 ^^H
Read, Colonel, 92, 98 ^^H

^KPaul. Mr., 202, 203

HPayton. Miss, 46-4B

"Peel, Irady {n^ Misa Julia Floyd),

RenneU Captain, A. D.C. to Sir John ^^B

129

Craddock, 164 ^1

322

ELERS MEMOIRS

Ricardo, Mr., 96

Richardson, 49

Richardson, Dr., 180

Richardson, Lady Elizabeth, 197

Richmond, Duke of, 56

Ritso, Captain, 179

Robarts, Captain, loth Regiment,

Roebuck, Ensign, Engineers, 179

Roebuck, Mrs., 220

Rolls, Mrs. (nie Miss Bamett), 198

and note
Romanville, Marquis de, 37
Rowe, Lieutenant, R.N., 69
Rowley, Sir William, 239
Ruding, Captain, 12th Regiment,

55» 7h 72
Ruding, Mrs. {nee Miss Jemima

Smith), 46-48, 55, 58
Russell, Lady WiUiam, 48
Russell, Mrs. William {nA Miss

Susanna Wilson), of Stubbers,

Essex, 227 and note, 229
Rust, Mr., of Stowmarket, 255
Rutland, Duke of, 20, 228

Sadi^ER'S WEI.LS, 23
St Croix, West Indies, 6
St. John, Colonel the Honourable
G., 125

St. Lucia, West Indies, 72

St. Sebastian, account of the storm-
ing of, 301-303

St. Thom€, Madras, 64, 107, 1^9

St. Vincent, Cape, defeat of Don
Mieuers fleet by that of Don
Pedro, of Portugal, under Cap-
tain Napier's command, 299

Sale, Lieutenant Robert, 12th Regi-
ment. See Sale, Colonel

Sale, Colonel Robert, 13th Regi-
ment, III, 128

Salisbury, Marquess of, 243

Sands, Lieutenant, 34th Regiment,
171, 172

Sanger Island, 161

Saunders, Lieutenant, Derby
Militia, 244

Saxon, Lieutenant-Colonel, E.I.C.
Artillery, 125

Scarborough, Earl of, 219

Scheltky, Dr., of the Scotch Bri-
gade, 105, 106

Schmederu, Baron, 7th Hussars,
248

Schwartz, German missionary, 78

Scindiah, 135

Seringapatam, 57, 87, 91, 94, 112,
115, 120, 122, 123, 125, 128, 130, 133,

144, 163 ; prize-money after cap-
ture of; 98-100

Shanklin Chine, 44

Shannon, Earl of, 249

Shawe, Colonel, 156

Shawe, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert
('Old Sour Crout'), 94, 109

Shelley, Sir John of Dipping, 256

Sherartl, Lady Anna Maria, 231

Sheridan, 49

Shipbrook, Earl of (Baron Orwell),

235
Skerrett, Captain, 65th Regiment,

Sidney, Sir John, Bart, 30

Simeon, Lieutenant, loth Regi-
ment, 245

Smart, the painter, 34

Smith, Miss Henrietta, 46-48

Smith, Miss Jemima. See Ruding,
Mrs.

Smith, Sir Henry, 198

Snejrd, Mr., of Keele, Stafford-
shire, 3

Sober, Miss Sarah. See Wood,
Mrs. Sampson Tickell

Somerset, Captain Lord William,
loth Regiment, 245

Somerset, Lord Fitz-Roy, 272

'Sour Crout, Old.' See Shawe,
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert

Spring-Rice, Mr., of the Treasury,
afterwards Lord Monteagle, 285
and note

Stamford races, 231

Stanhope, Honourable and Rev.
Fitz-Koy, 247 and note

Stanhope, Honourable Mrs. Fitz-
Roy {nde Miss Wyndham), 247
and note.

Stanhope, Lieutenant the Honour-
able Francis, loth Regiment, 245

Stanhope, Major Lincoln, i6tli
Dragoons, 240, 247

Stapleton - Cotton, Lieutenant -
Colonel, commanding 22nd Light
Dragoons. See Combermere, Vis-
count

Stephens, Miss Kitty. See Essex,
Countess of

Stephenson, Colonel, of Madras
Cavalry, 112, 122

Stephenson, Mrs., 122

Stewart, General, 213

Stirke, Lieutenant-Colonel, 12th
Regiment, 265, 266

Stisted, Colonel, 250

Storace, Signora, the singer, 26, 53

Stourton, L^rd, 191

INDEX

3*3

Stovin, Colonel, 17th Regiment,

164
Stre&tfield, Henry, of Chidding-

stone, Kent, 30 note
Streatfield, Miss, 30 and note, 31 ^

Streatfield, Mrs., 30 and note, 31, 49
Sturt, Major William Ashley, Soth

Regiment. 57
Sturt, Mrs, William Ashley, 57
Su6Frajeh, Rajah of Tanjore, 78
Sumner, Mr. Home, 169
Sunbnry» 22, 23
Surcoun, 170
Suttee. 76^78
S win ton. Captain, 74th Regiment

See Swinton, Lieutenant-Colonel
Swinton, Lientenant-Colonel, 74th

Regiment, 48, 179

Table Bay. 52

Talatcheri, 114, 115

Talbot, Colonel, 14th Dragoons,

246
Tanjore, 72, 74, 75, 78, 80
Tavistock, Marquess of, 196
Temple Newsam, Yorkshire, 190
TenerifFe, Peak of, 51
Tcnnant, Honourable Mrs.. 136
Tennant, Miss Ann, Se€ Debon-

naire. Mrs, John
Tennant, Mrs. W^illiam {nie Miss
Anne Debonnaire)^ 34 and note,
96. 97* I3<5, 190, 191
Tennant William, of Little Aston

Hall, Stafronlshire. 96
Th o m on d, M arq u ess o f {see O" Brien,

Captain William)^ 68, 69, 72, 73
Tbompson, Major, Town Major at

Maaras, 174, 175
Thorn ville Royal, 191
Thorahill, Thomas, of Fiacby, York-
shire, 50 and note
Thornton, Colonel, 191, 218, 220»

233
Tickell, Mr,, 49
Timbre n, CaptaiUt 179. iSi
Tippoo Sultan, 70, 81, 92, t2i, 123
Titian, Venus by, at Wherstead

Lodge, 239
Torin, Benjamin, resident at Tan-
jore, 78. 79, 95, 98, 104
Torrington, Viscount, 47
Torrington, Viscountess, 224
Townshend, Lord Charles, 210
Townsheud, Marchioness of {n^t
Miss Dunn-Gardner, afterguards
Lady Chartley), 206*209, ^ note,
3 to note

Townshend, Marquess of (sei
Cbartley, Lord), 207-210

Townshend, Marquess of {see Lei-
cester, Earl of), 207, 210 and note "

Trafalgar, Battle of, 183

Trapand, Colonel, ^,LC. Engi-
neers, 176

Travancore, 163

Trelawny, I^ady, 20 r

Tnchinopoli, 128, 129, 132, 145, 147

Trinity College, Oxford, 28

Troll ope, Sir John, 231

Tryon, Mr., of Bulwick Hall, 9, 253

Tuite, Lady {h/^ Miss Janet Coch-
rane, afterwards Mrs. Woodall),
124 and note, 126

Tuite, Sir George, Bart, 124 note,

Tiirton, Dr., 22
Twvsden, Sir William, 231
Tyler, Major, A.D,C- to Sir Thomas
Picton, 213

Ure, Dr. and Mrs,, 179. 186-188

Vandvkk portraits of Charles L

and Henrietta Maria, 231
Veil ore. 90, 173
Vellum, 75, 78, 79
Vernon, Admiral, 2-^5 and note, 236,

Vernon, General, 239

Vernon, Miss Arethusa. S^e Har*

land, Lady
Vernon, Mr. John, 225, 226, 234-

239, 241, 243 and note, 244, ^4^.

«53» 257
Vernon, Mr, Levcson, of Knodgill,

Suffolk, 243 and note
Vernon, Rev. Edward, 4 note
Vizagapatam* 148

Waddkli*, Mn» Bombay Civil Ser-
vice, H4
Wales, Prince of (aflerwards George

IV.), 47:49. i^. '^7. 245
Wales, Princess of, 249
Wallajahbad, 107, 108
Walsingham, Lord {see De Grey,

Honourable George}, 65, 90
Warre, Captain, R.N., 33
W'arriore, 112. 129, 133
Watson, Captain, 69th Regiment.

5*ff^ Watson, Lieutenant-Colonel
Watson, Lieutenant-Colonel, 223
Webster, Wedderburne, 254
Wedgwood, Mr., his Staffordshire

W potteries, 3, 284
elchman. Rev. R., 9

324

ELERS MEMOIRS

Wellesley, Colonel the Honourable
Arthur. See Wellington, Duke
of

Wellesley, Gerald, 304

Wellesley, Marquess of, loi, 115,
127, 134, 157; made Marauess and
gets pension after fall of Seringa-

Wpatam, lai ; dinner to, 203-205
ellesley, Mrs. William Pole
Tylney Long (#1^ Miss I/>ng),
248

Wellington, Duke of, 58, 64. 7o»
83. 85. 88, 94, 100, no, III, 128,
134, 270-274; arrives at the Cape,
admires Miss Henrietta Smith,
47 ; his appearance, 55, 56 ; gets
brevet rank of Colonel, 56 ; loan
to, by a Dublin tradesman, 56, 57 ;
generosity to Mrs. Sturt, 57 ; fails
in night' attack near Seringa-
patam, loi, 102; his subsequent
success, 102 ; supersedes General
Baird in command of Seringapa-
tam, 103 ; superseded by General
Baird in command of Indian force
for Egypt, 115; his ill-health,
116; aangerous ride from Can-
nanore through Cotiote country
to Coorg wim the author, 116,
117; meets Rajah of Coorg, 118,
1 19 ; his habits and conversation,
120, 121 ; his highest ambition to
be Major-Gen eral, 122 ; bis hunt-
ing establishment, 123; his dress,
124 ; prosecutor at a general
court-martial, 125; his suscep-
tible heart, 126; his hospitality
to the author, 127 ; engaged with
Scindiah, 135; his dog Jack, 144;
made G.C.B., 165-166; dinner to
at Madras, 173; his quarrel Mrith
Sir Thomas Picton, 211

Welsh, Thomas, the music-master,
259

Wenyeve, George, of Brettenham
Park, SuflFolk, 241, 242

Wenyeve, Miss Henrietta. See
Camac, Mrs. John

West, Captain, 33rd Regiment,
A.D.C. to Colonel Wellesley, 115,
120, 124, 126

Westmorland, Earl and Countess

of, 10
Weston, tailor to the Prince of

Wales, 37
Whersteaid Lodge, 226 and note,

235, 236, 238, 2^9
Whitbread, Lady Elizabeth, 219,

280 and note
Whitbread, Mr., 219
White, Lieutenant, 74th Regiment,

179, 181
Whitshed, Admiral, 132
Wigtown, Lord, 198 and note
WiQiam III., 4
Williams, Captain, 74th Regiment,

200
Wilson, Lieutenant of Marines, 69
Wilson, Major. See Bemers, Lord
Wilson, Miss Susanna. See Russell,

Mrs. William
WUson, Mr., of Allexton Hall,

Leicestershire, 229
Winch, Colonel, 36th R^ment, 64
Windus, carriage- builder, 97
Winstone, Captain Thomas Hay-
ward, 1 2th Regiment, 71, 108
Winterton, Countess of, 197 and

note
Wobum sheep-shearing, the, 196
Wood, Mrs. Sampson Tickell {nie

Sarah Sober), 49, 50
Wood, Sampson Tickell, 49, 50
Woodall, Captain Thomas. See

Woodall, Major Thomas
Woodall, Major Thomas, 12th Regi-
ment, 42, 46, 104 and note, 124,

133
Woodall, Mrs. {nie Miss Janet Coch-
rane, afterwards Lady Tuite), q,v,
Wybrow, Dr. and Mrs., 162
Wyndham, Miss. See Stanhope,
Honourable Mrs. Fitz-Roy

Yarborough, Lord, 97 and note
Yeaman, Major, 34th Regiment,

171, 172
York, Duke of, 103, 191, 201, 202, 268
Young, Mr. Charles, the tragedian,

56, 258, 259, 262
Younghusband, Miss. See Elers,

Mrs. Edward

THE END

BILLING AND SONS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD

DA 68.12 .E2 A3
Mmolrt of Q«)rg« Bm,
Stsfifofd I

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3 6105 041 368 452

Stanford UniTenity LUirarie
Stanford, California

Rctnni this book on or b«f or* date dM.

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Full text of "Memoirs of George Elers, captain in the 12th Regiment of foot (1777-1842) to which are added correspondence and other papers, with genealogy and notes"

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